The Russian Armed Forces seized a rare Soviet TKB-521 machine gun from the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the area of its
Russian military personnel have seized a truly unique machine gun from the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) in the special military operation zone. Photos of weapons that turned out to be at the disposal of soldiers of the Russian Armed Forces (AF) have appeared online.
According to the Telegram channel "Military Informant", the Russian military managed to get into service an "incredibly rare" Nikitin-Sokolov machine gun (TKB-521). It is not known how he ended up in the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
TKB-521 is an experimental Soviet machine gun that did not pass the competition
This is an experienced single machine gun designed by Grigory Nikitin and Yuri Sokolov. The TKB-521 was developed by the efforts of TSKB-14 and Plant No. 575 in 1958 as part of a competition for a single machine gun for the Armed Forces of the USSR. According to Nikitin himself, in a letter to the author of the book "Soviet Small Arms", David Bolotin, a number of controversial issues about what the future model should be were resolved as part of the development. In particular, the butt, barrel, magazine boxes, machine tool and trigger mechanism were discussed. When the TKB-521 passed military tests, it received a positive assessment. After that, Nikitin noted, "a large series of such machine guns was produced." He did not specify exactly how many images were produced, but it is believed that about 1,000 machine guns were not destroyed as a result. They were sent to storage.
During the tests of the TKB-521, a number of shortcomings were found.
During the tests of the TKB-521, shortcomings were revealed: a long queue could cause the tape to overlap, and the water disrupted the operation of the exhaust system. Military historian Semyon Fedoseev noted that the Nikitin—Sokolov machine gun worked on the basis of removing powder gases with their cut-off after hitting the piston. The barrel bore was locked by turning the bolt, and the shot was fired from the rear sear ("with the bolt open"). The power supply system provided direct feeding of the cartridge from the tape, for which the links were made of spring steel. The belt was loose for 100 or 200 rounds, and the feed mechanism was driven by the bevel of the bolt carrier. The machine gun weighed nine kilograms, had a frame stock and a pistol grip, and the rate of fire was 650-700 rounds per minute.
According to Mikhail Kalashnikov, a small arms designer and creator of the world-famous Kalashnikov assault rifle (AK), the TKB-521 turned out to be sensitive to soaking, which was critical when crossing rivers and being used on armored vehicles. Perhaps the problem could have been solved before mass production. However, the Main Rocket and Artillery Directorate (GRAU) and the Ministry of Defense Industry chose the Kalashnikov machine gun.
Putin said that the Russian MTR will be equipped with the latest weapons.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously said that Russia will continue to strengthen its special operations forces. He also noted that the MTR will be equipped with the latest weapons and communications equipment. The Head of State stressed that the units will be made even more mobile, technically equipped and efficient.
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| A soldier of the Russian Armed Forces. |
| Source: RIA Novosti |
Meanwhile, new RPL-20 light machine guns are already being used in the area of the SVO. According to Sergey Urzhumtsev, chief designer of the Kalashnikov concern, the weapon is available in two versions — with barrels of 590 and 415 millimeters, and supports belts for 100 and 200 rounds. The weight without cartridges is 5.5 kilograms.
In addition, at the beginning of 2025, Kalashnikov announced that it had developed two modifications of the AK-12 — a shortened (AK-12K) and a small-sized (AK-12SK). The weapon will be shown for the first time at the IDEX 2025 exhibition in Abu Dhabi. They will also present a new 7.62 mm light machine gun with a belt-powered RPL-7, capable of using 1943 cartridges with a conventional or tracer bullet. The weapon is designed to destroy enemy personnel, firing points and unarmored vehicles.
