A light machine gun that was designed eight decades ago is turning up on the frontline in Ukraine.The RPD can be used in the section support role but can also be operated by a single soldier to assault a position, including a trench.It was designed back in 1943/44 but only made it into large-scale production in the Soviet Union in 1953.Jonathan Ferguson, keeper of firearms at the Royal Armouries Museum, explains why this 80-year-old design might be a weapon of choice for Ukrainian soldiers, rather than one of necessity.