Kord heavy machine gun on
6T19 lightweight mount, with belt box, early model
Kord heavy machine gun on 6T19
lightweight mount, with belt box, current production model
Caliber:
12,7x108 mm Weight:
25 kg (gun body) plus 16 kg (6T7 tripod) or 7 kg (6T19 lightweight
mount with bipod) Length: 1980 mm Length of barrel: no data Feeding: belt 50 rounds Rate of fire: 650-750 rounds/min
The fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 left some
military factories located outside Russia; worse still, some of these
factories were the primary makers of certain weapon types, such as the 12.7mm NSV and NSVT heavy
machine guns. The “Metallist” factory that made
these guns for the Soviet army remained in the now-independent
Kazakhstan, and it kept all master drawings and other manufacturing
documentation for this important weapon. It was therefore decided to
take the opportunity to develop an improved HMG for use both by
infantry and on vehicles (mostly tanks), and this task was handed over
to the designers of the Degtyarov plant (ZID, the former Degtyarov
machine gun factory ) in the city of Kovrov. The new 12.7mm
weapon was to retain same mounting interfaces as NSV, while providing
better long-range accuracy. The ZID team did not have to start from the
ground up – actually, the factory’s design team had
been working on an improved 12.7mm HMG since 1987 - but the fall of the
USSR delayed its development. The new Russian Army requirement allowed
them to shake the dust from their older design drawings, and while
development was rather slow (because of the constant lack of funding),
the finalized gun was adopted by the Russian Army in 1997 and put into
mass production in 2001. Known as “KORD”
(Konstruktsija ORuzheinikov-Degtyarovtsev – design of
Degtyarov plant team), or under the official index 6P50, this weapon is
now issued to infantry troops and is mounted on most modern Russian
tanks, such as the T-80U and T-90. Because it uses the same firing and
mounting interface, KORD can be also retrofitted to older tanks (i.e.
T-64 and T-72), to replace worn-out NSVT
weapons. One unusual feature of the KORD is its relatively low recoil,
which allows it to be used not only from the same lightweight tripod or
AA mounts as the NSV,
but also from a proprietary "bipod" mount 6T19, creating what could be
called a lightweight
heavy MG. In this configuration the KORD weighs
‘only’ 31kg, thus allowing it to be carried on the
battlefield by a single soldier, although obviously for short distances
only. This makes the KORD very useful during ‘limited
warfare’ operations in urban and forest environments, as the
HMG team can change positions almost as fast as the infantry it
supports, and is able to fire from almost anywhere, including the high
stories of urban buildings (through the windows) or even from the
rooftops.
The Kord heavy machine gun is a
gas operated, air cooled, belt feed, automatic only, weapon. It uses a
more or less conventional long stroke gas piston, located below the
barrel which is locked using a rotary bolt with multiple lugs. The
barrel is quick-detachable and is fitted with highly effective muzzle
brake. There are two basic patterns of muzzle brakes – early
cylindrical one and current “flat” muzzle brake /
flash hider The belt feed uses the same steel,
non-disintegrating belts as the NSV.
The standard feed direction is from the right, but the Kord can be set
up to feed from the left if required. Spent cases are ejected forward
through a short tube pinned to the right side of the receiver. Like
the NSV, the Kord
has no firing controls on the gun body, other than a firing lever and
mechanical safety. Actual fire controls and charging mechanisms, be
that a manual trigger with pistol grip and manual charging handle, or
an electric solenoid trigger and pneumatic or electrical charging
system, are installed on the mount. The Kord retains the same mounting
interface as the NSV, so it is used from the same infantry tripods 6T7,
AA mounts 6U6 or tank mountings. Because of reduced recoil (compared
with the NSV or
other 12.7mm HMGs, thanks to the effective muzzle brake and buffers)
the Kord is equipped with one rather unique mounting 6T19, which
consists of a standard gun cradle of the NSV tripod (with pistol grip,
charging mechanism and shoulder stock), with attached bipod legs. The
Kord has iron sights as standard (hooded front post and tangent rear),
plus a special rail on the left side of receiver, which can accept
mountings for variety of telescopic or infrared sights.