The armed conflict in Afghanistan changed the views of the Soviet military command on modern domestic weapons. The belief was formed that a successful outcome of tactical military operations is possible when going beyond the regimes and parameters intended for armament and identifying their shortcomings with subsequent refinement.
In the process of researching various types of firearms, the weaknesses of the RPK-74 and PKM were identified - the weapon quickly overheated and had insufficient firepower. As a result of work on the modification of designs and the improvement of low-pulse cartridges based on the RPK-74 and PKM, a new version of the light machine gun, known as AEK-999, was created.
Basis for a new light machine gun
During the operation of PCM, rapid overheating is observed. This forces you to take long breaks in use and replace the barrel. The 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 militarycommand of the Ministry of Defense announced the start of a competition to create a new improved light machine gun, endowed with the merits of PKM, characterized by heat resistance and increased lethality.
For this purpose, cartridges of caliber 5.45 x 39 mm were replaced with others designed specifically for the new weapon. They became the machine gun “Badger” - 7 62 54.
AEK-999. Get Started
The work on the creation of an improved light machine gun was carried out by the Kovrov Mechanical Plant. This enterprise created the AEK-999 “Badger” project with automation and the principle of operation identical to the original PKM. Weapons designers managed to solve the problem: modernizing the PKM, eliminating its shortcomings and increasing the accuracy of fire. The receiver, the ammunition system and the butt were left unchanged. As a result, the AEK-999 “Badger” light machine gun had the same rate of fire as its prototype PKM (“Modernized Kalashnikov Machine Gun”).
Testing new weapons
Simultaneously with the work on improving the PKM machine gun, which was carried out at the Kovrov Mechanical Plant, according to the conditions of the competition announced by the Ministry of Defense, similar developments were carried out by weapon designers of the Central Research Institute of Precision Engineering. Kovrov workers were engaged in the creation of the “Badger” machine gun, and in TSNIITSCHCHMASH – the 6P41 PMK “Pecheneg” machine gun.
PoAt the end of the work in 1999, the first tests of Pecheneg and 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 the Pecheneg into 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 are the changes?
- The barrel for the new machine gun was to be improved. The developers managed to eliminate the main drawback of the PKM - rapid heating during firing. To this end, an alloy of steel 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 has been changed. On its surface, a longitudinal fin was installed, 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, saves the fighter from having to interrupt firing to replace the barrel. The fins in the machine gun made it possible to significantly increase the length of the AEK-999 “Badger” continuous burst. The testing of the Kovrov machine gun indicates that the weapon, with slight heating, can fire up to 650 shots without changing the barrel. During the firing of machine guns, the soldiers have the effect of a "mirage", which consists in distorting the view. This is due to rising up from the heatedbarrel with hot air. The use of metal tires mounted on top of the barrel, fins acting as a cooling radiator in the design, the problem of visual distortions was solved.
- Above the upper part of the barrel, gunsmiths added a special channel, which made it possible to carry the AEK-999 machine gun not only by the handle. Fastening a metal channel to the barrel of the weapon made it easier to transport, and also made it possible for the fighter to fire a machine gun from the hip. Previously, this was difficult, since the weight of the AEK-999 "Badger" is more than eight kilograms.
- The accuracy of fire of the “Badger” machine gun compared to the 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 weapons engineers during testing of the PKM noticed that the accuracy of fire is negatively affected by the overload of the inconvenient design of the bipod mount. For this reason, the AEK-999 machine gun had a muzzle, 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 muzzle of the machine gun, and the improvement in the design of the mounting units increased the balance of the weapon. The strength of the bipods, the increased balance of the machine gun and the ease of use had a positive effect on the accuracy of the battle.
Quiet shooting attachment
Any machine gun during firing has a characteristic drawback: it produces a loud sound that deafensfighter. Excessive noise is undesirable, since, among other things, it unmasks the position of the shooter. In order to eliminate the shortcoming, the development engineers of the upgraded machine gun equipped the AEK-999 with a special device for low-noise firing - PMS. This made it possible for the fighter to fire from a distance of 400-600 meters without revealing his position to the enemy, since the sound of the 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 ejected from the barrel made it difficult to aim normally, then with PMS this problem was solved.
The very first photographs, which depicted a single machine gun AEK-999 "Badger" with a device for low-noise shooting on its barrel, formed the belief among firearms lovers that all series of the Kovrov machine gun, as in the design of the VSS rifle, are produced with PMS. But it's not. In the case of the AEK-999, the low-noise firing devices are removable. If necessary, they can be mounted on the barrel of a weapon, depending on the terrain, environmental conditions and time of day, they can be removed and replaced with standard flame arresters from the modernized Kalashnikov machine gun (PKM).
Tactical and technical characteristics of AEK-999
- The 5.45 x 39 caliber cartridges of the RPK-74 are notable for their weak firepower. When creating the modernized Kovrov weapon, the cartridge was replaced by 7.62 x 54.
- The weight of the machine gun "Badger" AEK-999 is 8,75 kg.
- The length of the weapon is 1188 mm.
- Barrel length - 605 mm.
- The muzzle velocity is 825 m/s.
- The length of the continuous burst is 650 rounds per minute.
- Combat rate of fire per minute - 250 shots.
- Sighting range - one and a half kilometers.
- Machine gun belt is designed for one hundred and two hundred rounds.
Despite its merits, the AEK-999 “Badger” machine gun did not receive the wide recognition expected by its designers and developers. Shortly after testing a small batch in 1999, the production of these weapons was closed. The exact number of AEK-999 machine guns currently in use is unknown. Probably, they have already exhausted their entire resource.
