NSV machine gun explained

NSV
Origin:	Soviet Union
Type:	Heavy machine gun
Is Ranged:	yes
Service:	1971–present
Used By:	See Users
Wars:	Soviet–Afghan War First Nagorno-Karabakh War Gulf War Afghan Civil War War in Afghanistan Lebanese Civil War Iraq War Russo-Georgian War Syrian Civil War Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017) Russo-Ukrainian War^[1] Yemeni Civil War (2015–present) 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
Designer:	G.I. Nikitin, Y.М. Sokolov, V.I. Volkov
Design Date:	Central Design Bureau of Sports and Hunting Weaponry, Tula, 1969
Manufacturer:	"Metallist", Uralsk, Kazakh SSR
Production Date:	1971–present
Variants:	NSVT
Weight:	252NaN2 (gun only) 412NaN2 on tripod 112NaN2 (50-round belt)
Length:	15601NaN1
Cartridge:	12.7×108mm12.7×99mm NATO(For Polish WKM-B)
Caliber:	12.7 mm
Action:	Gas-operated
Rate:	700–800 rounds/min
Velocity:	845 m/s (2,772 ft/s)
Range:	1500 m vs. air (maximum) 2000 m vs. ground targets
Feed:	50-round belt
Sights:	Iron sights

The NSV Utyos (НСВ, initialism for Russian: Никитин-Соколов-Волков|translit=Nikitin-Sokolov-Volkov|label=none; Russian: Утёс|lit=Cliff|italic=yes), is a Soviet heavy machine gun chambered in 12.7×108mm. It is named after the designers, G. I. Nikitin, Y. М. Sokolov and V. I. Volkov. It was designed to replace the DShK machine gun and was adopted by the Soviet Army in 1971.

The NSV was manufactured at the Metallist plant in Uralsk, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union. The vehicle-mounted NSVT variant is used on the T-72^[2] T-64^[3] and T-80^[4] battle tanks. Like many Soviet weapons, the NSV was also licence produced by Yugoslavia as the M87. Following the break-up of the Soviet Union, Russia began development on the Kord heavy machine gun, while Belarus, Poland, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Vietnam all introduced their own copies of the NSV.

The NSV weighs 25kg (55lb), has a rate of fire of 700–800 rounds per minute, and an effective range from 1500m (4,900feet) to 2000m (7,000feet) against airborne and ground targets, respectively. A loaded ammunition belt with 50 rounds weighs 11kg (24lb).^[5]

History

The Soviet Army began looking for a new heavy machine gun to replace its older SGM and DShK machine guns in the early 1950s. The Soviet Army liked the idea behind the German MG 42; a versatile weapon used on a variety of mounts to perform many different roles. Two Soviet weapon designers were asked to design one weapon each utilizing the same principle. Mikhail Kalashnikov's submission was approved following trials as it was found to be more reliable and cheaper to manufacture than the design of Grigory Nikitin and Yuri Sokolov. Kalashnikov's machine gun became the new standard machine gun, and was named PK.

Nikitin's and Sokolov's design was, however, not forgotten. It was eventually developed into the NSV heavy machine gun about 10 years later and selected in 1969 as the successor to the DShK and DShKM machine guns. It was accepted in service by the Soviet Army in 1971.

Following the break-up of the Soviet Union, Russia began developing the Kord heavy machine gun to replace the NSV "Utyos" and which entered service in 1998. The Metallist factory in what is now Oral, Kazakhstan struggled to find customers in the 1990s. The factory was converted to focus on industrial production in the oil and gas sector in 2003.

Use in Finland

The NSV is called 12,7 Itkk 96 or Finnish: 12,7 ilmatorjuntakonekivääri 96|label=none ('12.7 anti-aircraft machine gun 96') in Finland. It is often used as a vehicle-mounted machine gun, and can be seen on the Pasi armoured personnel carrier, the Nasu transport vehicle and the Leopard 2R tank.

Due to its high rate of fire, the NSV is intended to be used as a close-range anti-aircraft weapon against helicopters, UAVs and aircraft. In dismounted ground combat it is placed on a special mount.

The Finnish Navy also uses the NSV in the anti-aircraft role, where it complements other unguided anti-aircraft weapons like the 23 ITK 95, Bofors 40 Mk 3 or Bofors 57 Mk 2 and Mk 3.

Variants

• NSV-12.7: Baseline variant, currently produced by West Kazakhstan Machine Building Company. Available in both 12.7×108mm and .50 BMG (12.7×99mm NATO).^[6]
• NSVS-12.7 (Russian: Никитина-Соколова-Волкова станковый — 12,7|translit=Nikitina-Sokolova-Volkova Stankovy – 12.7|lit=NSV-designed 12.7 mm mounted machine gun|links=no): Used on tripod mount.
• NSVT-12.7 (Russian: Никитина-Соколова-Волкова танковый — 12,7|translit=Nikitina-Sokolova-Volkova Tankovy – 12.7|lit=NSV-designed 12.7 mm tank-mounted machine gun|links=no): Used as a vehicle-mounted machine gun for tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles.
• Utyos-M: Naval twin 12.7 mm machine gun turret (used on the,,, patrol crafts, etc.).^[7]

• 12.7 Itkk 96: Finnish designation. Guns acquired from Soviet Union, Russia and Germany (ex-Nationale Volksarmee).^[8]
• M87 NSVT: Serbian license built version by Zastava Arms. The M87 has seen use with the armies of the former Yugoslav states. Available in both 12.7×108mm and .50 BMG.^[9]
• NSW: Polish copy.
• WKM-B: Polish copy adapted for NATO-standard .50 BMG ammunition.
• KT-12.7: Ukrainian copy.
• MG-U: Bulgarian copy.

Users

Current users

• • • • Bulgaria: Produced by Arsenal.^[10]
• Croatia
• Czech Republic
• Djibouti^[11]
  • • Finland^[12]
• Georgia
  • ^[13]
• Kazakhstan: Locally produced by Western Kazakhstan Machine-Building Company (ZKMK).^[14]
• Kuwait: Mounted and used on M-84 tanks.^[15]
• Kyrgyzstan
  • • • Mongolia
• Montenegro
• Namibia: Used by Namibian Marine Corps.^[16]
• ^[17]
  • Poland: Manufactured at ZM Tarnów as NSW. Poland also developed their own machine gun based on NSV and chambered to .50 BMG NATO round, known as WKM-B.^[12]
• Russian Federation
• Serbia: Manufactured at Zastava Arms. Copies were produced as the M02 Coyote.^[18]
• Sierra Leone^[19]
  • : Mounted and used on T-80U tanks.^[20]
• ^[21]
  • • Ukraine
  • : Reverse-engineered copy produced by Z111 Factory. Built with DShK-style butterfly trigger and shoulder stock while retaining other majority properties of the NSV.^{[22] [23]}

Former users

• • ^[24]

See also

• List of firearms
• List of Russian weaponry

Further reading

• Book: Jones . Richard . Ness . Leland S. . Jane's Infantry Weapons 2010-2011 . 2010 . Jane's Information Group . 978-0-7106-2908-1 . en.
• Book: Koll , Christian . Soviet Cannon: A Comprehensive Study of Soviet Arms and Ammunition in Calibres 12.7mm to 57mm . Koll . 2009 . Austria . 978-3-200-01445-9 . 67.

Notes and References

1. Web site: NSV 12.7mm caliber heavy machine gun. Donetsk today. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/d_Q1n4Aw7ck . 2021-12-21 . live. UKRAINE HOT NEWS. 8 April 2015. 7 October 2018. YouTube.
2. Web site: T72 Tank Characteristics . 2017-06-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171019041534/https://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/row/t72tank.htm . 2017-10-19 . live .
3. Web site: T64 Tank . 2017-06-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160715072238/http://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/row/t64tank.htm . 2016-07-15 . live .
4. Web site: T80 Tank Characteristics . 2017-06-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170214183907/https://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/row/t80tank.htm . 2017-02-14 . live .
5. Web site: 12.7 ITKK 96 . Finnish Army . 2016-06-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160707142915/http://maavoimat.fi/itkk . 2016-07-07 . dead .
6. Web site: NSV 12.7 "UTYOS" HEAVY MACHINE GUN. West Kazakhstan Machine Building Company. 13 November 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230430014913/https://utyos.zkmk.kz/. 30 April 2023. live.
7. Web site: 12,7-мм турельно-башенная установка . 12.7 mm machine gun turret . Armyman.info . ru . 21 March 2011 . 20 April 2024 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20180714022215/https://armyman.info/oruzhie-flota/pulemety-i-granatomety/2160-127-mm-turelno-bashennaya-ustanovka-171utes-m187.html . 14 July 2018.
8. Web site: NSV AAMG. Finnish Defence Forces. 12 November 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171113060329/http://maavoimat.fi/itkk. 13 November 2017. dead.
9. Web site: Machinegun M87 . Zastava Arms. 13 November 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20210727161218/https://www.zastava-arms.rs/en/machinegun-m87/. 27 July 2021. live.
10. Web site: 12,7 mm Arsenal Multi-purpose Machine Gun MG-U. 26 November 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304055150/http://www.arsenal-bg.com/defense_police/mg-u.htm. 4 March 2016.
11. Book: Debay, Yves. Yves Debay. VBL Panhard. Histoire et collections. 2004. 9782913903166. fr. 120.
12. Jane's Armour and Artillery, Volume 23, p. 450
13. fr. Enquête nationale sur les armes légères et de petit calibre en Côte d'Ivoire: les défis du contrôle des armes et de la lutte contre la violence armée avant la crise post-électorale. Savannah. de Tessières. UNDP, Commission Nationale de Lutte contre la Prolifération et la Circulation Illicite des Armes Légères et de Petit Calibre and Small Arms Survey. April 2012. Special Report No. 14. 97. 2018-08-30. https://web.archive.org/web/20181009102938/http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/C-Special-reports/SAS-SR14-CoteIvoire.pdf. 2018-10-09. dead.
14. Book: Small Arms Survey 2012: Moving Targets. http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/A-Yearbook/2012/eng/Small-Arms-Survey-2012-Chapter-04-EN.pdf. Blue Skies and Dark Clouds: Kazakhstan and Small Arms. Cambridge University Press. 2012. Small Arms Survey. Small Arms Survey. 133. 978-0-521-19714-4. 2018-08-30. https://web.archive.org/web/20180831002411/http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/publications/by-type/yearbook/small-arms-survey-2012.html. 2018-08-31. dead.
15. Web site: Archived copy . 2014-01-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140606045131/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Kuwaiti_M-84.JPEG . 2014-06-06 . live .
16. Web site: Defence Web. Namibia receives Russian small arms. defenceweb.co.za. June 2016. defenceweb. 18 June 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160812195403/http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=43723&catid=74&Itemid=30. 12 August 2016. live.
17. North Korean Small Arms (Democratic People's Republic of Korea). Small Arms Review. 16. 2. June 2012. 2019-02-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20190202212301/https://smallarmsreview.com/display.article.cfm?idarticles=1108. 2019-02-02. dead.
18. Web site: Machine Gun M02 Coyote - 12.7x108 mm /.50 Browning. 26 November 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141230162456/http://www.zastava-arms.rs/en/militaryproduct/machine-gun-m02-coyote-127x108-mm-50-browning. 30 December 2014. dead.
19. Web site: World Infantry Weapons: Sierra Leone. https://web.archive.org/web/20161124203938/https://sites.google.com/site/worldinventory/wiw_af_sierraleone. 24 November 2016. 2013.
20. Web site: [선진강군 24시] 육군제3기갑여단 불곰대대 전차포 사격훈련]. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/vO-3T3vnCUo . 2021-12-21 . live. 국방TV. 29 November 2017. 7 October 2018. YouTube.
21. Book: Neville, Leigh. Technicals: Non-Standard Tactical Vehicles from the Great Toyota War to modern Special Forces. New Vanguard 257. 19 Apr 2018. 9781472822512. Osprey Publishing. 9. 25 October 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181026064443/https://books.google.fr/books?id=mGlPDwAAQBAJ. 26 October 2018. live.
22. https://web.archive.org/web20180720165840/http://infonet.vn/tim-hieu-5-loai-sung-duoc-viet-nam-cai-tien-nang-cap-gan-day-post207846.info
23. Web site: BAODATVIET.VN | Sức mạnh T-54/55 Việt Nam tăng đáng kể . April 25, 2016 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120315231502/http://quocphong.baodatviet.vn/Home/QPCN/Suc-manh-T5455-Viet-Nam-tang-dang-ke/20123/197418.datviet . March 15, 2012.
24. Encyclopedia: Zastava 12.7 mm machine gun NSV-12,7. Jane's Infantry Weapons 2002-2003. 4 May 2001. Terry J.. Gander.