A Russian military training exercise almost descended into bloody exercise after a soldier lost control of a powerful rotary machine gun yesterday, July 12.
The viral video showed a Russian mobile fire group training exercise involving a YakB-12.7 rotary machine gun, originally for use on the Mil Mi-24 ‘Hind’ attack helicopter, going wild.
The weapon’s intense recoil violently threw the operator off the platform and sent the gun spinning wildly, narrowly missing his instructor and nearby troops.
The dramatic incident was captured on video and has since spread widely across social media, where viewers described it as a spectacular training failure and questioned how the weapon had been mounted.
The video begins with a soldier positioned behind the mounted machine gun while another serviceman stands just a few feet away.
At first, the exercise appears routine as the gunner opens fire but within moments the enormous recoil generated by the weapon appears to overwhelm the mounting system.
Instead of remaining fixed on its target, the heavy machine gun suddenly begins rotating violently around its support.
The soldier clinging to the weapon is pulled with it, desperately trying to maintain control as the entire assembly spins faster and faster.
As the gun continues firing, the operator is whipped around the mount before being violently hurled over a nearby barrier.
