The armed conflict in Afghanistan has changed the views of the Soviet military command on modern domestic weapons. The conviction was formed that a successful outcome of tactical military operations is possible if you go beyond the limits of the regimes and parameters intended for armament and identify their shortcomings with subsequent refinement.
In the process of researching various types of firearms, the weaknesses of the RPK-74 and PKM were determined - the weapon quickly overheated and had insufficient firepower. As a result of work on the modification of structures and improvement of low-pulse cartridges based on RPK-74 and PKM, a new version of the light machine gun, known as AEK-999, was created.
The basis for the new light machine gun
During PCM operation, rapid overheating is observed. This forces you to take long breaks in use and to replace the barrel. RPK-74 light machine gun was designed for a 5.45 x 39 mm cartridge. This caliber is characterized by insufficient firepower. At the request of the military command, the Ministry of Defense announced the launch of a competition to create a new improved light machine gun endowed with the advantages of PKM, characterized by heat resistance and increased slaughter.
For this purpose, 5.45 x 39 mm caliber cartridges were replaced with others created specifically for the new weapon. They became the machine gun “Badger” - 7 62 54.
AEK-999. Beginning of work
Work on the creation of an improved light machine gun was carried out by the Kovrov Mechanical Plant. This enterprise created the project AEK-999 “Badger” with automatic equipment identical to the original PCM and operating principle. Weapon designers managed to solve the problem: modernizing the PKM, eliminating its shortcomings and increasing the accuracy of fire. Left unchanged receiver, ammunition and stock. As a result, the AEK-999 Barsuk light machine gun had the same rate of fire as its prototype PKM (“Kalashnikov Modernized Machine Gun”).
Testing new weapons
Simultaneously with the work on improving the PKM machine gun, which was carried out at the Kovrov Mechanical Plant, in accordance with the terms of the competition announced by the Ministry of Defense, similar developments were carried out by weapons designers of the Central Scientific Research Institute of Precision Engineering. Kovrov workers worked on the creation of the Barsuk machine gun, and in TsNIITSCHMASH, the machine gun 6P41 PMK Pecheneg.
Upon completion of work in 1999, the first tests of the Pecheneg and the Badger were carried out, after which the Ministry of the Interior became interested in AEK-999. The development of the TsNIITSCHCHMASH machine gun was approved by the Ministry of Defense, which officially adopted Pecheneg for service. A small batch of AEK-999 was ordered by the Ministry of the Interior for a series of tests by its special forces.
What did the change affect?
- The barrel for the new machine gun was subject to refinement. The developers managed to eliminate the main drawback of PKM - quick heating during firing. For this purpose, a steel alloy was used in the production process, which until that time was used in the manufacture of guns for aviation.
- The mounting unit of the receiver with the barrel was changed. A longitudinal fin was installed on its surface, designed to perform the function of an impromptu radiator, covered with a plastic forearm. The use of fins prevents the barrel from quickly overheating. And this, in turn, eliminates the need for a soldier to interrupt firing to replace the barrel. The fins in the machine gun allowed to significantly increase the length of the continuous line AEK-999 Barsuk. The testing of the Kovrov machine gun made indicates that a weapon with a slight heating can carry out up to 650 shots without replacing the barrel. During the firing of machine guns, a soldier appears to have a “mirage” effect, which consists in distorting the view. This is due to hot air rising up from the heated barrel. Using the design of metal tires mounted on top of the barrel, fins, acting as a cooling radiator, the problem of visual distortion was solved.
- Above the upper part of the barrel, gunsmith designers added a special sealer that allowed carrying the AEK-999 machine gun not only by the handle. The fastening of the metal channel to the barrel of the weapon facilitated its transportation, and also made it possible for the soldier to shoot from the hip with a machine gun. This was previously difficult, since the weight of the AEK-999 Barsuk is more than eight kilograms.
- The accuracy of fire with the Barsuk machine gun compared to PKM has become higher due to the use of flame arresters, recoil compensators and a muzzle brake in the design of the new machine gun.
Improved balance and accuracy of fire
Kovrov’s weapons engineers noticed during PCM testing that congestion in the inconvenient design of the bipod mount assembly negatively affects the accuracy of fire. For this reason, the AEK-999 machine gun had a muzzle cut, from which the bipod was located at a greater distance than in the PKM. As a result of the modernization, the bipods were moved away from the machine gun barrel, and the improvement in the design of the mounting units increased the balance of the weapon. The strength of the bipod, the increased balance of the machine gun and the ease of use positively affected the accuracy of the battle.
Silent Attachment
Any machine gun during firing has a characteristic drawback: it produces a loud sound that stuns the fighter. Excess noise is undesirable, as, among other things, it unmasks the position of the shooter. In order to eliminate the drawback, the development engineers of the modernized machine gun equipped the AEK-999 with a special device for low-noise shooting - the PMS. This made it possible for the fighter to shoot from a distance of 400-600 meters, without revealing his position to the enemy, since the sound of shots is now almost inaudible.
When conducting combat operations at night, the use of PMS allows the use of night sights. If earlier the flame thrown from the barrel made it difficult to aim properly, then with PMS this problem was solved.
The very first photographs depicting a single AEK-999 Barsuk machine gun with a device for low-noise shooting on its barrel formed the belief among lovers of firearms that all series of the Kovrov machine gun, as in the design of the BCC rifle, are made with PMS. But this is not so. In the case of AEK-999 devices for low-noise shooting are removable. If necessary, they can be mounted on the barrel of the weapon, depending on the terrain, environmental conditions and time of day, removed and replaced with standard flash suppressors from the upgraded Kalashnikov machine gun (PKM).
