NSV machine gun

NSV
NSV heavy machine gun
Type	Heavy machine gun
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In 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
Production history
Designer	G.I. Nikitin, Y.М. Sokolov, V.I. Volkov
Designed	Central Design Bureau of Sports and Hunting Weaponry, Tula, 1969
Manufacturer	"Metallist", Uralsk, Kazakh SSR
Produced	1971–present
Variants	NSVT
Specifications
Mass	25 kg (55.12 lb) (gun only) 41 kg (90.39 lb) on tripod 11 kg (24.25 lb) (50-round belt)
Length	1,560 mm (61.4 in)
Cartridge	12.7×108mm 12.7×99mm NATO (For Polish WKM-B)
Caliber	12.7 mm
Action	Gas-operated
Rate of fire	700–800 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity	845 m/s (2,772 ft/s)
Effective firing range	1500 m vs. air (maximum) 2000 m vs. ground targets
Feed system	50-round belt
Sights	Iron sights

The NSV Utyos (Cyrillic: НСВ, initialism for Никитин-Соколов-Волков, Nikitin-Sokolov-Volkov; Russian: Утёс, lit. 'Cliff'), 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 25 kg (55 lb), has a rate of fire of 700–800 rounds per minute, and an effective range from 1,500 m (1,600 yd) to 2,000 m (2,200 yd) against airborne and ground targets, respectively. A loaded ammunition belt with 50 rounds weighs 11 kg (24 lb).^[5]