Development
The catalyst for the development of the weapon was a complete lack of any heavy machine guns in construction at that time in the Russian Federation. Prior to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the weapon that had functioned as the heavy machine gun was the NSV, or "Utes" or "Utjos" (meaning one lonely cliff in Russian, this name was its designation during development) (утёс) machine gun. The main production centre for the NSV was located in what is now Kazakhstan.
The Russian Degtyarev bureau was given the job of producing an updated version of the weapon chambered in the 12.7x108mm cartridge, which could be used for support, mounted on vehicles or in an anti-aircraft capacity.
The weapon employs new construction, and consequently is significantly lighter than its predecessor. The firing mechanism is very rugged, yet is capable of a greater rate of fire and significantly less recoil. Because a new barrel made of a high-tech alloy minimizes distortion and drop, accuracy has increased tremendously over previous Soviet machine guns. Unlike its predecessor and the vast majority of other heavy machine guns, it may be fired from a bipod — a rather unique feature for 12.7 mm/.50 caliber heavy machine guns. Its relatively light weight and lesser recoil allows stronger soldiers to move the gun around without assistance.
Read more about this topic: Kord Machine Gun
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