Heavy Calibres, Big Effects: Machine Guns, Autocannon and Anti-Materiel Rifles

The KPV, designed by Semyon Vladimirov, was first fielded as an infantry weapon in 1949 in 14.5x114mm. It proved too large for that role, so its infantry version left production in the 1960s, yet it lasted as an anti-aircraft gun in the ZPU mounts and as armament on the BTR series and the BRDM-2.

The ADEN takes its name from Armament Development, Enfield, and is a 30mm revolver cannon built to meet a postwar British Air Ministry requirement for more lethal aircraft armament. It entered service on the Hawker Hunter in 1954 and went on to arm British gun-equipped aircraft until the Panavia Tornado.

The NSV, or Utyos, takes its name from its designers Nikitin, Sokolov and Volkov and fires 12.7x108mm. It was adopted by the Soviet Army in 1971 to replace the older DShK, and its listed combat use runs from the Soviet-Afghan War to the Russo-Ukrainian war.

The AGS-30 is a Russian automatic grenade launcher developed by the KBP Instrument Design Bureau. Firing 30mm grenades at roughly 400 rounds per minute with an effective range of about 2,100 meters, it can be carried and fired by one soldier and improves on the earlier AGS-17.

The Kord is a Russian 12.7mm heavy machine gun that entered service in 1998 to replace the NSV. It looks like its predecessor but uses a rotating bolt in place of a horizontally pivoting breech block, which lowers recoil and improves accuracy in sustained fire.

The NTW-20 is a South African anti-materiel rifle designed by Tony Neophytou at Denel Mechem and put into service in 1998. Depending on the barrel fitted it fires 20x82mm, 20x110mm Hispano or 14.5x114mm rounds, aimed at targets such as parked aircraft, radar installations and bunkers.

The TAC-50 is a bolt-action .50 caliber rifle built by McMillan Firearms of Phoenix, Arizona. As the C15 it has been the Canadian Army long-range sniper weapon since 2000, and rifles of this type have twice held the record for the longest confirmed sniper kill.

The OSV-96 is a Russian semi-automatic 12.7x108mm anti-materiel rifle from the KBP Instrument Design Bureau, developed in 1996 to 2000 and in service from March 2000. It folds for transport and uses a large muzzle brake to manage recoil.

CROWS, the Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station, lets a crew member fire a mounted machine gun, grenade launcher or missile from inside the vehicle using thermal imaging and a laser rangefinder. It has been fielded by the United States military since 2004, with Kongsberg Protech Systems the main contractor for the M153 CROWS II.

The Mk44 Bushmaster II is a 30mm chain gun made by Northrop Grumman and in service since 2007. It shares about 70 percent of its parts with the 25mm M242 Bushmaster while raising firepower by as much as 50 percent, and it can be built for 30x173mm or 40x180mm ammunition.

The AS50 is a semi-automatic, gas-operated .50 BMG anti-materiel rifle from the British firm Accuracy International. Its floating barrel and titanium frame lower the recoil compared with bolt-action .50 rifles, with a cited rate of about five rounds in 1.6 seconds.

The Barrett XM500 is a gas-operated, semi-automatic bullpup .50 BMG rifle designed as a lighter, more compact alternative to the Barrett M82 and M107, with a stationary barrel intended to improve accuracy. It was still listed as under development, with no public evidence of regular production.