“Ukrainian Soldiers Embrace Cutting-Edge Polymer Gun Belts in Battlefield Revolution”
Contemporary warfare integrates state-of-the-art technological innovations. A remarkable advancement is the unique invention by the Ukrainian enterprise «Kharkiv Factory of Personal Protective Equipment», notably a logistics solution for machine gun ammunition concerning PK/PKM models.
The metallic belt for the PK, PKM, and SG serves as the core component for equipping machine guns; however, it is neither fabricated in Ukraine nor in the majority of the 53 countries that possess machine guns in their defense stockpiles. Coupled with shortages stemming from manufacturing deficiencies and continuous battlefield damages, the metal belt presents several substantial challenges, such as the requirement for extraction from the frontlines, manual ammunition loading, inconvenient weight, noise during transit, vulnerability to rust, among others.
Professionals at the Kharkiv Factory of Personal Protective Equipment have tackled all these obstacles by designing an innovative polymer disintegrating link for machine gun ammunition belts, which significantly improves the maneuverability and productivity of gunners in combat scenarios. This claim has been corroborated through field evaluations and actual combat experiences.
The polymer machine gun belt incorporates a series of links, each formed by three rings linked together by a crossbar. The links are flexible and connected by cartridges inserted into the aligned rings. This belt is three times lighter than its metal equivalents, offers a lower price point and faster production rate, produces minimal noise during transport, resists corrosion, and avoids tangling during operation. A notable feature of this system is that the belts can be sent to the frontline pre-loaded, eliminating the need for soldiers to dedicate time to this procedure.
The design and testing phase of the polymer belt necessitated extensive time, as our aim was to assure maximum usability, reliability, and efficiency of our offering. We maintain continual dialogue with Ukrainian defenders engaged in military operations across diverse segments of the front and consistently gather their feedback. Throughout the conflict, the polymer belt developed by the Kharkiv Factory of Personal Protective Equipment has been utilized by soldiers from the Airborne Assault Forces, the 54th Separate Mechanized Brigade, the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade, the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, and various other units. Personnel have praised the ergonomic features, transport convenience, and versatility of the polymer machine gun belt.
The opposition did not overlook our advancement. In 2022, a report was published on the platform of the notable Russian outlet «Kalashnikov», where the author, a firearms expert and editor-in-chief of the magazine, Mikhail Degtyaryov, criticized us for «lacking professional expertise and ignoring historical precedents», while also declaring that replacing the traditional metal belt with a significantly lighter and more cost-effective polymer alternative was inconceivable due to various critical flaws.
Nevertheless, two years later, multiple Russian enterprises introduced their «new offerings» – copies of our innovation, one of which even featured on the cover of the aforementioned expert publication.
