A special two-medium assault rifle, or ADS, is a weapon that makes you feel proud of the Russian defense industry. The unique machine gun can be effectively used both on land and under water, and it is already in service with the Russian security forces. In 2019, shipments of the first batches of serial assault rifles to the troops began. American journalists could not pass by this weapon either. For example, an article about ADF was published on the website of The National Interest magazine in early April 2020. American journalists speak well of the "underwater assault rifle" from Russia, noting that this Russian weapon cannot be escaped even under water.
From development to series production
ADS was developed by the engineers of the Instrument-Making Design Bureau from Tula. A new model of small arms was created on the basis of the A-91 small arms and grenade launcher system, which was created by Tula gunsmiths in the early 1990s. The new weapon was originally created to replace in special units of the Russian armed forces (primarily the Navy) a special APS submachine gun for underwater shooting and the classic AK-74M. It is worth noting that the Tula gunsmiths managed to successfully solve the task set before them. Their novelty, called ADS (two-medium special assault rifle), surpasses both the AK-74M and the APS in accuracy of fire (on land and under water, respectively).
The project of a new weapon was completed by 2007, after which, until 2013, various work was carried out to improve the design, test prototypes and fine-tune them. For the first time, the ADS machine gun was presented to the general public in 2013 as part of the International Maritime Defense Show in St. Petersburg. The machine gun immediately attracted increased public attention as a unique example of small arms.
The very idea of development and the general concept of the ADS belonged to Vasily Gryazev, an outstanding domestic weapons designer, one of the masters of creating small arms in our country. In metal, the weapon was released after the death of the designer, when his colleagues and students who worked at TsKIB SOO, the Central Design Research Bureau of Sporting and Hunting Weapons, which are organizationally part of the Tula Instrument Design Bureau, continued to work on the project.
For a long time, the weapon was refined and underwent experimental operation directly in the troops. As a result, the Russian armed forces received the first batch of new ADF assault rifles, capable of equally effective shooting both on land and under water, only at the end of 2019. This was reported by TASS with reference to the press service of the High-Precision Complexes holding, which includes the Instrument Design Bureau (Tula).
Representatives of the High-Precision Complexes holding told that in Tula, mass production of two-medium automatic rifles was mastered, and the first batches of ADS had already been shipped to the customer as part of the state defense order. At the same time, the machines have been in trial operation for several years. For example, earlier there was news that deliveries of individual consignments to law enforcement agencies began in 2018. The High-Precision Complexes holding told reporters that as a result of the trial operation of the new machines, some modifications were made to the product, aimed primarily at improving the convenience of operating the two-medium machine.
It is clear that the main operators of the machine will be special units of the Russian fleet (primarily combat swimmers). But back in 2017, representatives of TsKIB SOO said that customers from not only the Russian Ministry of Defense, but also the Russian Guard, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the FSB were showing interest in the product from Tula. And in 2018, Yuri Amelin, a representative of TsKIB SOO, told RIA Novosti reporters that an enterprise preparing for the start of mass production of the ADS assault rifle had also received permission to export a new model of small arms.
Unique features of the ADS machine
The special double-medium assault rifle is a versatile automatic weapon with high efficiency, allowing the shooter to confidently fight the enemy not only on land, but also under water, where ordinary small arms cartridges become useless. ADS is a truly unique development, which is sometimes rightly compared to weapons that have come down to us from the pages of science fiction.
ADS for the first time gives the shooter the ability to confidently hit targets both on land using a wide range of standard machine gun cartridges of 5, 45x39 mm caliber, as well as 40-mm grenade launcher rounds, and under water, where the machine gun is used to combat enemy saboteurs and combat swimmers. For firing underwater, special ammunition is used that has the same caliber. In order to fight in suitable conditions, the shooter only needs to change the store. Such a successful combination of a standard and a special assault rifle in one model is very important, since it allows combat swimmers to almost halve the weight of the weapons they carry.
A feature of the ADS model is the bullpup layout, which made it possible to make the weapon more compact. At the same time, the reduction in the length of the weapon did not occur to the detriment of the barrel length and while maintaining the high combat characteristics of the model. The machine received a closed box, which should increase the reliability of the ADS operation in difficult conditions. Composite materials used in the manufacture of weapons have a positive effect on the weight of the model, at the same time increasing the corrosion resistance of the machine. Also, the machine is equipped with a universal Picatinny rail, which allows you to install various models of sighting devices on the ADS. Additionally, the two-medium assault rifle can be equipped with a device for silent shooting or a special attachment for blank shooting.
In ADF, quite a lot of interesting solutions were implemented, including new ones for serial Russian small arms. For example, it is on a two-medium machine that spent cartridges are ejected not sideways, but forward with the box closed. This solution simultaneously reduces gas pollution on the shooter's face and allows the use of the machine by right-handers and left-handers. ADS is equally suitable for shooting from the right or left shoulder, for this the shooter does not need to rearrange any parts on the weapon.
A distinctive feature of the Russian ADS assault rifle is an under-barrel grenade launcher integrated into the design of the weapon, designed to use caseless VOG-25 grenades and their modifications. Such a solution significantly increases the fire capabilities of the machine gun, and therefore the shooter himself, providing the fighter with an additional set of tools for solving various tasks on the battlefield.
ADS specifications and cartridges used
The ADS assault rifle has two main modes of firing: single shots and automatic fire. The rate of fire reaches 700 rounds per minute (when shooting on land). For firing from the ADS submachine gun, ordinary cartridges for AK assault rifles of caliber 5, 45x39 mm can be used, as well as specialized ammunition for firing under water: 5, 45x39 PSP and PSP-UD. Magazine capacity - 30 rounds. Also, together with the weapon, 40-mm VOG-25 grenade launcher shots and their various modifications can be used. The aiming range of ADS on land is up to 600 meters, from a grenade launcher - 400 meters. Under water, the target can be confidently hit at a distance of up to 25 meters at a depth of five meters, with increasing depth this value decreases.
The mass of the weapon is 4, 82 kg without sight, this value is given on the website of the holding "High-precision complexes". In this case, the ADS has the following geometric dimensions: the length of the special machine is 685 mm, the width is 60 mm, and the height is 302 mm. Barrel length of the machine gun - 418 mm. According to this indicator, the weapon is in no way inferior to the AK-74M assault rifle, the barrel length of which is 415 mm. At the same time, the ADS is much more compact due to the bullpup layout (for comparison: the length of the AK-74M with the butt extended is 940 mm).
On land, along with weapons, regular cartridges for the AK-74M assault rifle of caliber 5, 45x39 mm (7N6, 7N10, 7N22) can be used, but for firing weapons under water, the designers of TsKIB SOO created special ammunition of the same caliber. The main one is the PSP cartridge, which is designed to defeat enemy combat swimmers when firing from ADS in a submerged position. In addition to it, there is also a cartridge for combat training use - PSP-UD. The latter differs in that it can also be used to solve combat missions, albeit with restrictions on the range of destruction of underwater targets.
Both cartridges are equipped with a standard steel case of an automatic cartridge 5, 45 mm, but received a different bullet and improved gunpowder. The bullet itself for a live cartridge is made of tungsten, for a training cartridge - of bronze. Outwardly, it is a spherical longer bullet of variable diameter, having a truncated cone top (cavitator) and a conical bottom. This shape of the bullet creates a cavity to minimize water resistance. This is important, since conventional ammunition is not able to cover a distance of three meters under water.
