SNIPEX Laska K-2 heavy machine gun (Ukraine)

The SNIPEX Laska K-2 heavy machine gun was first announced during Guns and Security 2021 expo in Kyiv. It is designed by the XADO company from Ukraine, which also produces several large caliber sniper / anti-material rifles under its SNIPEX trademark. So far this heavy machine gun is still in development and test stage, and it is yet to be seen if it will ever make it to mass production and field use.

 

SNIPEX Laska K-2 heavy machine gun

SNIPEX Laska K-2 heavy machine gun

 

What is obvious at the first glance on this weapon is its clear Browning heritage. Its slab-sided, pinned receiver, dual spade grips, feed unit and recoiling barrel arrangements are heavily based on the century-old Browning M1921 / M2HB heavy machine gun. However, there are numerous deviations from the old design, which may or may not help to improve this particular weapon.

The SNIPEX Laska K-2 heavy machine gun uses short recoil operated, locked breech action with moving barrel. Breech locking is achieved by a multi-lugged rotary bolt which engages the barrel extension, apparently solving the old Browning problem of headspace adjustments. Barrel can be quickly removed or replaced, and features a folding carrying handle to make this process more user-friendly.

Belt feed system uses closed-loop disintegrating links. When gun is set to fire 12.7x99mm NATO ammunition, it apparently can use standard M9 links. When set to fire 12.7x108mm ammunition of Soviet origin, gun uses proprietary closed loop polymer links. In either version, direction of the belt feed apparently can be reversed with replacement of several parts. Cartridges are pulled out of links by a special lever with the claw at its forward end, then lowered to the bolt face and held there by extractors. Gun fires from an open bolt, in full-automatic mode only. Fired cases are ejected forward through the short chute at the bottom of the receiver.

The SNIPEX Laska K-2 heavy machine gun is equipped with adjustable iron sights, attached to the receiver. It also has a length of Picatinny rail attached to the top of receiver behind the belt feed cover. Controls include dual spade grips at the rear of the receiver, with a thumb trigger between them. Gun can be fired form a variety of ground or vehicle mounts.

 

Specification Value
Full text name SNIPEX Laska K-2 heavy machine gun (Ukraine)
Caliber cartridge .50 BMG (12.7x99 Browning Machine Gun), 12.7x108
Action type select-fire
Trigger type sa
Overall length, mm 1840
Barrel length, mm 1111
Weight empty, kg 29
Cyclic rate of fire, rounds/min 500-600