MKEK’s 7.62mm PKM and MAG designs, Production Ready?

[Zarvan]

While the majority of the defense industry is fixated on the adoption of the 7.62x51mm NATO MPT-76 select fire rifle by the Turkish Land Forces (which is still not complete in the least), or the more recent release of a 5.56x45mm version, MKEK has quietly been rolling out plans for two locally produced versions of foreign GPMG designs. Specifically these are essentially a modernized Turkish version of the PKM, but in 7.62x51mm NATO, in addition to what appears to be a direct copy of the FN Herstal, what would appear to be licensed produced version of the FN MAG, also in 7.62x51mm.



The MKEK product page doesn’t provide very much information other than statistics about both the PKM copy, and the FN MAG copy, other than a cursory page inspection revealed that both were updated in June of 2017, so there is an attempt to keep information about these weapon systems relevant. There is a Turkish solicitation notice for development of a domestically produced GPMG, but this query began in 2010, last updated in 2014, with no updates since. There was this news video that was released, along with an announcement about the MPT-76, and the newer 5.56x45mm NATO version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2GIJZ9cVUQ

While the FN MAG copy has the designation of MFY-71 Makineli Tüfek (Machine Gun), the modified PKM chambered in 7.62x51mm is simply classified as Modern Makineli Tüfek, or “Modern Turkish Machine [MG]”. So far the news from Turkish sources has simply been that MKEK will be “producing” the MMT in 2017, with no mention of the MFY-71. We have this quote from a Turkish news source (Google Translated)-

We have seen that when we compare fast camera views with world equivalents, we have better sensitivity than all of them, now the critical design is in the approval phase, we have produced the engineering prototype, we will build the product in 2017 and then plan to go through production.

There are also these photographs of the MMT from a Turkish defense forum-




http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2017/10/13/mkeks-7-62mm-pkm-mag-designs-production-ready/

 

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[Hexciter]

Kale is working for a long time for this project

IDEF 2009

IDEF 2013

IDEF 2017

 

[Beno]

A semi-auto PKM in 7.62 NATO would sell like hotcakes in the US. How's the development going? Is it going to be mass produced soon?

 

[kartal1]

A semi-auto PKM in 7.62 NATO would sell like hotcakes in the US. How's the development going? Is it going to be mass produced soon?

It must enter inventory in 2018.

Kale is working for a long time for this project

IDEF 2009
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IDEF 2013
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IDEF 2017
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Kale's machinegun is a real beauty man!

 

[Mr.Department]

A semi-auto PKM in 7.62 NATO would sell like hotcakes in the US. How's the development going? Is it going to be mass produced soon?

Also some little companies like GIRSAN and TISAS work on semi auto

 

[Saithan]

Have you guys seen some of those youtube videos where Americans test out turkish products. I especially recall one about the shotgun UTS and some lever action ones, and I was thinking whether they have a point about the weapons being fun and all, but not really one they'd use for work.

If the producers make too many half-baked weapons it just means they're incapable of improving them to a level where foreign police forces wants them.