Cybertruck with conservative firepower heads to conflict zone

Ramzan Kadyrov presented an armed Cybertruck, whose weaponry is very conservative and some might say unworthy of Tesla's beast. Here is what has been mounted on it.

A video has appeared on social media showing a Cybertruck armed with a heavy machine gun Kord cal. 12.7 mm, driven by Ramzan Kadyrov. He announced that the armed Cybertruck is soon to go to the front, where it will most likely attract the attention of everyone around.

The deployed weaponry is surprisingly conservative, as heavy machine guns are the norm for off-road vehicles used by various terrorist or rebel groups, including in Africa.

However, as history has shown, much more interesting weapons, such as anti-aircraft guns ZU-23-2 cal. 23 mm, have often ended up on the backs of the most frequently used Toyotas. In the case of Ukrainian territorial defense, configurations with a pair of heavy machine guns KPW cal. 14.5 mm or a single anti-aircraft gun M75 cal. 20 mm have been present.

Such a configuration placed in an unmanned turret supported by artificial intelligence algorithms would be more fitting for the Cybertruck, whose 166 kWh (598.5 MJ) battery would easily power such a configuration for a long time.

The heavy machine gun Kord is a modernization of the NSW machine gun from the 1990s, resulting from Russia losing the NSW production line located in Kazakhstan. The new heavy machine gun was designed at the V.A. Degtyarev Plant, where many internal elements were changed, such as the locking mechanism.

Externally, the Kord is similar to the NSW and can be distinguished by the fewer number of rivets on the receiver. The new model should theoretically have a muzzle brake, but some have a barrel with the old muzzle device. Due to being powered by the powerful 12.7 mm calibre cartridge, capable of penetrating obstacles like sandbags or building walls without issue, the weapon's weight is significant, at 25 kg.

The most popular bullet, weighing around 48 grams (1.7 oz) and accelerated to about 820 m/s, has a muzzle energy exceeding 16,000 joules, which ensures effective targeting of objects in buildings at distances even over 1.5 kilometres. For comparison, bullets fired from a rifle like the FN FAL have a muzzle energy of about 3,000 joules. This means that no bulletproof vest can provide protection from rounds of this type of weapon, and only armoured vehicles, and not all of them, can offer protection.