Zastava M72 | |
---|---|
![]() Zastava M72 | |
Type | Light machine gun |
Place of origin | Yugoslavia |
Service history | |
In service | 1973–present |
Used by | See Users |
Wars | Soviet–Afghan War [1] Iran–Iraq War Nagorno-Karabakh conflict [1] Yugoslav Wars Iraq War Operation Enduring Freedom Syrian Civil War [2] OLA insurgency [3] |
Production history | |
Designed | 1972 |
Manufacturer | Zastava Arms |
Produced | since 1973 |
Specifications | |
Mass | 5.5 kg |
Length | 1025 mm |
Barrel length | 542 mm |
Cartridge | 7.62×39mm |
Action | Gas-actuated (rotating bolt) |
Rate of fire | 620 RPM |
Muzzle velocity | 745 m/s |
Effective firing range | 400 m |
Feed system | 30, 40 round box magazines or 75 round drum magazine |
Sights | Adjustable iron sights, optional mount required for optical sights |
The Zastava M72 is a light machine gun developed and manufactured by then Yugoslav Zastava Arms company. [4] [5] The M72 was patterned after the Soviet RPK light machine gun.
The Zastava M72 chambers and fires the 7.62×39mm M67 round. It is a gas-operated, air-cooled, drum-fed firearm with a fixed stock. It is a squad automatic weapon, like the Soviet RPK but has unique design features.
This weapon is a near copy of the Soviet RPK light machine gun. There are a few differences on the M72/M72A. It does not have a scope side rail mount, the butt is also different, having the shape of a regular AK-47 rifle. It has a reinforced receiver, night sights and no carrying handle. The barrel also differs from other RPK rifles because of the cooling fins to help with heat dissipation from prolonged fire. The M72 only appears with a heavy profile barrel as opposed to Russian and Romanian RPK rifles that can come in both light or heavy barrel configurations.
A general-purpose machine gun (GPMG) is an air-cooled, usually belt-fed machine gun that can be adapted flexibly to various tactical roles for light and medium machine guns. A GPMG typically features a quick-change barrel design calibered for various fully powered cartridges such as the 7.62×51mm NATO, 7.62×54mmR, 7.5×54mm French, 7.5×55mm Swiss and 7.92×57mm Mauser, and be configured for mounting to different stabilizing platforms from bipods and tripods to vehicles, aircraft, boats and fortifications, usually as an infantry support weapon or squad automatic weapon.
A squad automatic weapon (SAW), also known as a section automatic weapon or light support weapon (LSW), is a man-portable automatic firearm attached to infantry squads or sections as a source of rapid direct firepower. Weapons fulfilling this role can be light machine guns, or modified selective-fire rifles fitted with a heavier barrel, bipod and a belt/drum-fed design.
The AK-74 is an assault rifle designed by small arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov in 1974 as a successor to the AKM. While primarily associated with the Soviet Union, it has been used by many countries since the 1970s. It is chambered for the 5.45×39mm cartridge, which replaced the 7.62×39mm cartridge of Kalashnikov's earlier automatic weapons for the Soviet Armed Forces.
The SVD, GRAU index 6V1, is a semi-automatic designated marksman rifle/sniper rifle chambered in the 7.62×54mmR cartridge, developed in the Soviet Union.
The Type 56 is a Chinese 7.62×39mm automatic rifle, a licensed derivative of the Soviet-designed AK-47.
The PK also commonly known as the PKM, is a belt-fed general-purpose machine gun, chambered for the 7.62×54mmR rimmed cartridge.
The RPK, sometimes inaccurately termed the RPK-47, is a Soviet 7.62×39mm light machine gun that was developed by Mikhail Kalashnikov in the early 1960s, in parallel with the AKM assault rifle. It was created to standardize the small arms inventory of the Soviet Army, where it replaced the 7.62×39mm RPD machine gun. The RPK continues to be used by the military of the post-Soviet states and certain African and Asian nations. The RPK is also manufactured in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Serbia.
The INSAS, or Indian Small Arms System, is a family of infantry arms consisting of an assault rifle and a light machine gun (LMG). These weapons were developed in India by the Armament Research and Development Establishment and manufactured by the Ordnance Factories Board at its various factories. It was the standard infantry weapon of the Indian Armed Forces for almost three decades.
A designated marksman rifle (DMR) is a modern scoped high-precision rifle used by infantry in the designated marksman (DM) role. It generally fills the engagement range gap between a service rifle and a dedicated sniper rifle, at around 300–600 metres (330–660 yd).
The Tabuk Sniper Rifle is an Iraqi semi-automatic designated marksman rifle, made from a modified version of the Zastava M76 sniper rifle. The Tabuk Rifle was manufactured at the Al-Qadissiya Establishments in Iraq using machinery sold to Iraq by Zastava Arms of Yugoslavia when Saddam Hussein was president.
The Zastava M76 is a military semi-automatic designated marksman rifle developed and manufactured by Zastava Arms.
The Zastava M70 is a 7.62×39mm assault rifle developed in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia by Zastava Arms. The M70 was an unlicensed derivative of the Soviet AK-47. Due to political differences between the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia at the time, namely the latter's refusal to join the Warsaw Pact, Zastava was unable to directly obtain the technical specifications for the AK and opted to reverse engineer the weapon type. Although the M70 was functionally identical to the AK, it had unique in-built features that better enabled it to fire rifle grenades. These included a thicker receiver, a new latch for the dust cover to ensure it would not be jarred loose by a grenade discharge, and a folding grenade sight bracket over the rifle's gas block, which also shut off the gas system when raised.
The Pușcă Automată model 1986 is the standard assault rifle used by the Romanian Military Forces. It is manufactured in Cugir, Romania by the ROMARM firm, located in Bucharest. The export name for this variant is the AIMS-74.
The Pistol Mitralieră model 1963/1965 is a Romanian 7.62×39mm assault rifle. Developed in the late 1950s, the PM md. 63 was a derivative of the Soviet AKM produced under license. It was the standard-issue infantry weapon of the Army of the Socialist Republic of Romania until the late 1980s, after which it was gradually superseded by the Pușcă Automată model 1986, a derivative of the Soviet AK-74.
The NHM-91 is a semi-automatic civilian development of the Russian Kalashnikov AKM and RPK infantry small arm built by Norinco of China and marketed in the U.S. by China Sports Inc. of Ontario, California.
The AK-12, "Avtomat Kalashnikova, 2012" is a Russian gas-operated assault rifle chambered in 5.45×39mm designed and manufactured by the Kalashnikov Concern, making it the fifth generation of Kalashnikov rifles.
The PSL is a Romanian designated marksman rifle. It is also called PSL-54C, Romak III, FPK and SSG-97. Though similar in appearance, mission and specifications to the SVD Dragunov, the PSL rifle is mechanically completely different as it is based on the RPK light machinegun, with its internals simply being scaled up to accommodate the more powerful 7.62×54mmR cartridge.
The Zastava PAP are a series of Serbian sporting rifles based on the Zastava M70 and Zastava M77B1. They are nearly identical to their military counterparts, but lack select-fire capability and have been modified with a number of sporting features designed to comply with firearms imports laws in the United States, where they are primarily marketed.
1PN58 is the GRAU index for a Soviet designed passive night scope for a range of Soviet designed small arms and grenade launchers. 1PN is the GRAU index of night vision devices, where PN stands for Nochnoy Pritsel meaning night sight. It is also called NSPUM. or NSPU-1. The 1PN58 was introduced into Soviet service in the early 1970s and is still used by many of the Soviet Union's successor states, and has been used in numerous conflicts around the world.