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The PU-21 (Russian: ПУ-21 Пулемёт с унифицированной подачей) is a 5.45×39mm machine gun designed by V. M. Kalashnikov and M. E. Dragunov between 1972 and 1977. The PU-21 can be fed from either a 45-round magazine or a 200-round belt. The PU-21's sights are graduated to distance of 1,000 metres (3,300 ft).[1][2]
The PU-21 prototypes were thoroughly tested by the Soviet Army in Leningrad, but military experts did not see convincing arguments for replacing the RPK and RPK-74 with the PU-21 design. According to the Soviet military, the design was too complex compared to other weapons then in service, and failed to enhance combat effectiveness.
See also
- List of machine guns
- List of dual-feed firearms
- Ares Shrike 5.56
- RPK-74
- RPL-20, a similarly belted 5.45 machine gun, drew some inspiration from this project
- PKM
- FN Minimi
- List of Russian weaponry
References
- ^ Пулемет ПУ (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
- ^ Отечественные пулеметы с унифицированной подачей (in Russian). Archived from the original on 6 December 2010. Retrieved 13 Jun 2012.
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