FK Brno BKS .338 machine gun. (Janes/Amael Kotlarski)
Czech firearms company FK Brno unveiled its BKS medium machine gun at the Eurosatory 2024 defence exhibition held in Paris from 17 to 21 June.
The BKS is a gas-operated, belt-fed, air-cooled, select-fire machine gun chambered for the .338 Norma Magnum (NM) (8.6×63 mm) cartridge. The BKS weighs 11 kg; is 1,275 mm long; and has a rate of fire of 550 rds/min, an effective range of 1,700 m, and a maximum ballistic range of 6,500 m.
Despite the outward similarities to the Soviet-designed PK/PKM series of general purpose machine guns, FK Brno modified the original design to accommodate the new, much more powerful cartridge.
When asked about the choice to base the BKS' design on that of the PK, a company representative said that the BKS was the ninth large-calibre machine gun design they had developed. The company experimented with eight other designs, chambered for various calibres and employing different operating mechanisms. Ultimately, the company decided that the PK offered an ideal, proven, mechanically reliable architecture from which to work. A company representative said that it had already received interest from a European country at the show and that the company was open to a potential future licensing agreement for the design.
The first, and probably most important change from the PK, comes in the construction of the receiver. While the original PK used a stamped receiver, with the stock socket and barrel socket riveted in place, the BKS receiver is machine-forged from steel, including the feed cover. A new front trunnion is also fitted to the front of the receiver, allowing the retention of a quick-change barrel function.
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