PKM

NOTE: This article is about PKMs in the main ARMA games. For other similarly named articles, you may wish to use the following links instead:

For the HMG PKM in Global Mobilization, see PKM (Global Mobilization).

For the PK in S.O.G. Prairie Fire, see PK (S.O.G.).

WIP: This page is currently a Work-In-Progress. Information contained in this article is either incomplete or missing and is subject to review.

The PKM is a 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun featured in ArmA: Cold War Assault, ArmA: Armed Assault, ArmA 2, and ARMA Reforger.

ArmA: Cold War Assault[]

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The PK machine gun is the standard light machine gun of the former Soviet Union and many of its allies. The PK is a gas-operated, rotary locked, belt-fed machine gun which fires from an open bolt. The weapon is fed from non-disintegrating metallic belts. These belts are composed of 25-round sections that can be linked to any size necessary.

Weapon Description

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The PK is used by Soviet military forces and the Nogovan Partisans in ArmA: Cold War Assault.

Overview[]

The PK is a gas operated, belt-fed medium machine gun that operates with an open bolt design. It is chambered to fire the 7.62×54 mm cartridge.

It loads from 100-round belts stored in metal boxes^{[CWACfgW 4]}, and is able to attain a fire rate of up to 600 rounds per minute^{[CWACfgW 5]}^{[Formula 1]} with a muzzle velocity of 1,000 m/s.^{[CWACfgW 6]}

The PK is the standard-issue GPMG of the Soviet Armed Forces. A moderately powerful machine gun, the PK provides every Soviet squad with the ability to suppress enemy infantry within whichever direction it's pointed at. It retains a good base rate of fire, above average accuracy, and a large ammunition capacity which makes the PK a decent competitor to its American counterpart.

However as with the M60, the PK also suffers from several drawbacks. Though its accuracy is quit edecent, its ironsights are difficult to aim with since they obscure most of the shooter's view in first person. Its recoil is difficult to control, and its relatively high fire rate also means that a single belt will be quickly depleted after just a few seconds of sustained fire. Lastly, wielding the PK will prevent the user from being able to carry a rocket launcher (just like the M60).^{[CWACfgW 7]}

Fortunately, the problem of recoil can be slightly remedied by simply shooting from a prone position which can help mitigate some of its effects. Shooting in short bursts (of 4-5 rounds instead of firing on full auto), will also lower the rate at which it consumes ammunition while still being able to provide suppression at long distances.

Alternately, one effective solution to maintain accuracy while firing long bursts is to simply aim slightly below the intended target (at least good few centimetres under), which will result in hitting the target with sustained fire with almost every round. Provided that this is done from a prone position, the high recoil will then (mostly) keep the barrel pointed directly at the target.

Ironsights[]

The PK's ironsights are set to a fixed zeroing of 400 metres.^{[CWACfgW 8]}^{[CWACfgW 9]} It is not possible to manually adjust this to a different setting.

Ammunition[]

Ammo parameter	7.62 mmR (Ball)
Base damage value	8^{[CWACfgA 1]}
Spill damage value	2^{[CWACfgA 2]}
Muzzle velocity (m/s)	1,000^{[CWACfgW 6]}

The PK can only be fed with one type of "magazine".^{[CWACfgW 4]} It requires at two^{[CWACfgW 10]} free inventory slots:

PK Mag.[]

100-round metal box with a linked belt loaded with 7.62 mmR ball ammunition.^{[CWACfgW 11]}

Its bullets have a spill radius of 0.1 metres upon impact.^{[CWACfgA 3]}

Trivia[]

Although Cold War Assault's weapon manual lists the PK's stats as having a 200-round belt, the in-game PK can only load from 100-round belt boxes.
At release, AI units armed with the PK would continue firing even when allied units crossed into their line of fire. This was corrected after the release of Patch 1.40, which added a safety check to prevent PK users from committing friendly fire.^[1]

The information below details unused, pre-release or removed content.

In pre-release/beta versions of Cold War Assault (version 0.36, then-known as Operation Flashpoint DEMO) as well as in the original Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis prior to the addition of the official Resistance and unofficial Red Hammer expansions, the PK had wholly different set of sound effects.^[2]
- Instead of sounding exactly like the AK-74 being fired on full auto, it sounded the same as the 7.62 mm-chambered coaxial machine guns used by both the T-72 and M60 tanks, as well as the BMP-1, BMP-2 and M2A2 IFVs.
- Oddly enough, this was actually a far more realistic and appropriate sound effect as the T-72 and BMPs use essentially one and the same weapon (the "PKT", as this was vehicle-mounted version of the PK machine gun). For unknown reasons however, the PK was later changed starting from Patch 1.46 to use the AK-74's firing sounds.
- This is further compounded by the fact that said vehicles kept the weapon's original sound effect while the PK itself did not retain them. Lastly, this change makes even less sense when taking into account that both weapons are chambered for completely different calibres (7.62×54 mm versus the AK-74's 5.45×39 mm).

Gallery[]

ArmA: Armed Assault[]

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The PKM is the modernized version of the venerable PK medium machinegun.
The PKM is just small enough to be man portable, and an ammo box attached under the receiver means the gunner always has a full 100-round belt ready to fire.
Though it is a heavy weapon to pack around, the firepower it projects on the battlefield makes it worth the trouble. The PKM can provide sustainable suppressive fire, even at very long ranges.

Library Description

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The PKM is used primarily by SLA forces and in limited numbers with Resistance guerillas in ArmA: Armed Assault.