RPK (Ruchnoy Pulemyot Kalashnikova)

Silhouette (Visual Identification)

RPK
Category Light Machine Guns
Operating system Gas operated, magazine fed, air cooled, selective fire
Cartridge
Length 1040 mm
Feeding Box magazine

The RPK was made under license by many companies in many countries. It was exported to many countries, and it can be found all over the world because the gun is used in many conflicts. The weapon was in service with several armed forces, both regular and irregular, and it can be found in many countries in Asia and Africa.

Global distribution map

Weapon prevalence origin Country of origin licensed Licensed production unauthorized Production without a license
X
Scale dependend aggregation of production sites

The RPK is found in 70 countries

This map is a reflection of data on global distribution and production provided primarily by the BwVC. It is not exhaustive. If you would like to add to or amend the data, please click here.


Global distribution list

The data on global distribution and production is provided primarily by the BwVC, but also from national and regional focal points on SALW control; data published by think tanks, international organizations and experts; and/or data provided by individual researchers on SALW. It is not exhaustive. If you would like to add to or amend the data, please click here.

Origin Country of origin
Production Licensed production
Non-Licensed Production Production without a licence
G Government: Sources indicate that this type of weapon is held by Governmental agencies.
N Non-Government: Sources indicate that this type of weapon is held by non-Governmental armed groups.
U Unspecified: Sources indicate that this type of weapon is found in the country, but do not specify whether it is held by Governmental agencies or non-Governmental armed groups.

It is entirely possible to have a combination of tags beside each country. For example, if country X is tagged with a G and a U, it means that at least one source of data identifies Governmental agencies as holders of weapon type Y, and at least one other source confirms the presence of the weapon in country X without specifying who holds it.

Afghanistan (AFG)
G
Albania (ALB)
G
Armenia (ARM)
O
G
Azerbaijan (AZE)
O
U
Belarus (BLR)
O
U
O
U
Bulgaria (BGR)
G
Cambodia (KHM)
G
Cameroon (CMR)
G
Cape Verde (CPV)
G
G
Chad (TCD)
G
China (CHN)
O
U
Comoros (COM)
G
Congo (COG)
U
Croatia (HRV)
O
U
Cuba (CUB)
G
G
Djibouti (DJI)
G
Egypt (EGY)
G
G
Ethiopia (ETH)
G
Fiji (FJI)
G
O
U
Georgia (GEO)
O
U
Germany (DEU)
U
Ghana (GHA)
G
G
Hungary (HUN)
G
Iran (IRN)
G
Iraq (IRQ)
G
Kazakhstan (KAZ)
O
U
Kyrgyzstan (KGZ)
O
U
Laos (LAO)
U
Latvia (LVA)
G
Libya (LBY)
G
Lithuania (LTU)
U
Malaysia (MYS)
G
Mali (MLI)
G
Malta (MLT)
G
N
Moldova (MDA)
O
G
Mongolia (MNG)
G
Montenegro (MNE)
O
U
Morocco (MAR)
G
Mozambique (MOZ)
G
Namibia (NAM)
G
Nicaragua (NIC)
G
Nigeria (NGA)
G
North Korea (PRK)
O
G
Poland (POL)
G
Romania (ROU)
O
G
Russia (RUS)
O
G
Serbia (SRB)
O
U
Seychelles (SYC)
G
Sierra Leone (SLE)
G
Slovenia (SVN)
O
G
Somalia (SOM)
G
South Sudan (SSD)
U
Sudan (SDN)
G
Syria (SYR)
G
Tajikistan (TJK)
O
U
Tanzania (TZA)
G
Turkmenistan (TKM)
O
U
Uganda (UGA)
G
Ukraine (UKR)
O
G
Uzbekistan (UZB)
O
G
Vietnam (VNM)
G
Yemen (YEM)
G
Zambia (ZMB)
U
Zimbabwe (ZWE)
G

Visual Identification (Silhouette)

RPK (7)