Type 73 North Korean 7.62mm Light Machine Gun

Houthi Proliferation. The Type 73 is a light machine gun designed and manufactured by North Korea's First Machine Industry Bureau. It is used primarily by the Korean People's Army, and via Iran, has been exported throughout the Middle East. It has a passing resemblance to the Bren light machine gun. The design is heavily based on the 1960s-era Soviet PK machine gun. However, the Type 73 does have certain indigenous modifications, including removable muzzle sleeves and a dual magazine/belt feed system, patterned after the Czechoslovak Vz.52 LMG, allowing the user to fire the weapon from indigenous box magazines or ammunition belts that can used with the PKM. One unusual feature is a special barrel attachment to enable the gun to fire rifle grenades. The weapon's intended combat role is thought to be as a squad automatic weapon. However, it uses a 7.62×54mmR cartridge, not the 7.62×39mm round used by the Type 58 assault rifle, North Korea's standard infantry rifle. This is unusual as most armies' squad automatic weapons use the same ammunition as rifles, so all members of a unit may share ammunition and only one type needs to be supplied. A larger cartridge is a characteristic of a general-purpose machine gun, although such weapons typically are belt fed and do not use a box magazine.