Serial deliveries of the RPL-20 machine gun to the Russian Armed Forces may begin in 2025.

The latest Russian 5.45 mm RPL-20 machine gun may begin mass production in the Russian army in 2025. This was announced on May 14 by Sergey Urzhumtsev, chief designer of the Kalashnikov Concern for small arms.

"The machine gun itself has just appeared, and this year it should enter the army in serial volumes," he told TASS.

The abbreviation RPL stands for "light machine gun with a belt feed." It weighs 5.2–5.5 kg, depending on the number of rounds, has compact dimensions and can fire automatically at a rate of about 700 rounds per minute.

These weapons are designed to support assault units and fire from an unstable position — in a confined space, mountainous or wooded area.

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Earlier, on February 21, Urzhumtsev reported that light 5.45 mm RPL-20 hand machine guns had appeared in his area. When tested in the army, the machine gun received good reviews.