Kord machine gun

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KORD
[1]
Type	Heavy machine gun
Place of origin	Russia
Specifications
Weight	25.5 kg
Length	1625 mm (64 in)(Tank) 1980 mm (78 in) (Infantry)

Cartridge	12.7 x 107 mm
Action	gas
Rate of fire	650-750 rds/min
Muzzle velocity	820-860 m/s
Effective range	2000 m (Ground); 1500 m (Air)
Feed system	50 round belt

The Kord 12.7 mm machine gun has recently entered production as a replacement for the Soviet made NSV. The Kord heavy machine gun has improved accuracy, with dispersion of about 0.22 m at 100 m range. It includes a new barrel design and a belt feed on both sides of the gun.

[edit] Description

The Kord was developed by the Russian Degtyarev bureau in response to a requirement for a new heavy machine gun chambered to the 12.7 x 107 mm cartridge to be used for support, mounted on vehicles, and in the anti-aircraft role. The catalyst for the requirement was, actually, a total lack of any heavy machine guns in construction in the Russian Federation. Prior to the break-up of the Soviet Union, the standard weapon had been the NSV or "Utes" (утёс) machine gun . However, when the USSR split up, the official documents authorizing the manufacture of this gun happened to be in a Kazakhstan factory, and only that country was allowed to manufacture the NSV. When Soviet troops fighting in the region of Chechnya started to suffer from the lack of a sufficient number of heavy machine guns (especially in the vehicle- mounted form, for anti-aircraft and anti-infantry support), a plea went out to the Degtyarev designers, who came up with the Kord.

Though it could almost be considered an "emergency" design, the Kord, in fact, proved a huge success. The weapon employs new construction, and consequently is significantly lighter than its predecessor. The firing mechanism design is very rugged, in the Russian tradition, yet is capable of greater rate of fire and significantly less recoil (the recoil is so light, the gun can be fired "off the hands", without even deploying a bipod). Because a new barrel made of a hi-tech alloy minimizes distortion and droop, accuracy has increased tremendously over previous Soviet machine guns and the M2 Browning machine gun currently used by the U.S. Army. The machine gun remains economical enough to produce by the troubled Russian industry. All these engineering feats are especially amazing because the gun continues to fire a heavy cartridge (like its predecessors), effectively making all inovations "cost-less".