"The main task of the reconnaissance units of the Russian Airborne Forces in 2012 will be the development of new Austrian sniper rifles of the Mannlicher system, which have already entered service," Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Kucherenko, an official representative of the Airborne Forces, made a statement to ITAR-TASS correspondents on Friday.
The Dragunov sniper rifle (SVD) of 7.62 mm caliber has been used by snipers of the Russian Army for combat missions up to the present day. Remain in service with special rifles for silent shooting (VSS) caliber nine millimeters, SVD-S with a folding stock and the legendary Vintorez.
The planned rearmament of the snipers of the Ministry of Defense expected to begin in early autumn. The military noted the fact that the SVD does not meet modern combat requirements and snipers need rifles that are twice the characteristics of the SVD.
As you can see, the choice fell on the Steyr Mannlicher SSG 04 sniper rifle from Austria, designed for snipers who are faced with the task of hitting a target at a greater distance than the SVD's effective firing range. This product is manufactured by the Austrian company Steyr-Mannlicher AG.
Rifle Presentation: Steyr Mannlicher SSG 04
The Mannlicher rifle has exactly the same caliber as the Dragunov rifle - 7.62 millimeters, and there is exactly the same magazine for ten rounds. Unlike the SVD, the Austrian brainchild has a more powerful cartridge, thanks to which the lethal and sighting range is immeasurably greater than that of the Dragunov rifle. With Mannlicher, it is possible to hit a target at a distance of more than one kilometer, while the SVD has an effective range of only 800 meters.
The undoubted advantage of the Mannlicher rifle is the excellent build quality, a 14x more advanced sight with a fundamentally different mounting method, individual adjustment for shooting with a specific sniper, while taking into account its anatomical features. Of course, there are some nuances: the experts' remarks touched on the shutter. It is designed on a longitudinal sliding principle and, in use, a constant manual recharge is a requirement. At the same time, the advantage of this embodiment is the better accuracy of fire in comparison with the SVD.
Despite these characteristics of Mannlicher, the leadership of the reconnaissance unit is not going to write off the Dragunov rifle for scrap. In the future, the use of two types of rifles for solving various combat missions.
We must pay tribute to our weapons. The SVD was developed in 1958-1963 by the design bureau under the strict guidance of Evgeny Dragunov. The reloading of the bolt is automatic, it was developed like a Kalashnikov assault rifle - the energy of the powder gases brought the firing pin into a combat state by exhausting gases from the barrel to the gas piston. The "running" cartridge of 7, 62 × 54 mm used at that time was offered both with the usual bullet design, and armor-piercing incendiary, tracer and sniper. The SVD was also equipped with expansive bullets. It was proposed to conduct fire with single shots, with the possibility of completing with a PSO-1 optical sight and the ability to install NSPUM night sights.
Reacting to the new developments of our design bureaus, such as: a rifle that pierces an armored personnel carrier with its bullet, and an assault rifle with underwater cartridges, the task of updating the arsenals of small arms with more modernized versions has become one of the most important tasks of the Ministry of Defense. Despite its authority around the world, the Kalashnikov assault rifle has also been criticized by analysts. The “accusation” side insisted that this model was outdated long ago and was incapable of effectively performing combat missions. The Ministry of Defense made a statement on the termination of the purchase of this type of weapon, explaining that the warehouses are already overflowing with "Kalash". Izhmash promptly responded to this criticism by starting the development of a new type of weapon even before the start of the competition for the development of a new generation of assault rifles. The designers put the dignity of the AK-12 at the forefront - the ability to use it with one hand, to which the military department reacted with the suspicion that the new model would copy all the shortcomings of the AK-47, since it was created on its basis.
The Russian defense industry, represented by its experts, emphasizes that the weapons they produce are not inferior to foreign counterparts, and also surpass them, which was presented last week in Klimovsk. The meeting of the Scientific and Technical Council of the Military-Industrial Commission under the Government of Russia on the basis of the demonstration complex of the Central Research Institute of Precision Engineering was able to examine the development of small arms.
Viktor Litovkin, a columnist for the "Independent Military Review", especially noted as the most interesting and promising model of a two-medium assault rifle ADS (operating on land and under water) of 12.7 mm caliber. The aimed firing range, although 800 meters, is equipped with an underwater silent grenade in a grenade launcher weighing 80 grams and has the ability to hit the enemy with both conventional and underwater cartridges.
An underwater pistol with a 9x19 Gryazev-Shipunov cartridge was presented for review. It differs in a magazine capacity (18 rounds) and low weight.
The combat characteristics of the ADS and ASh-12 rifles are striking. These rifles, with a subsonic bullet, at a distance of 600 meters are capable of penetrating the armor of an armored personnel carrier. Equipped with silencers, four-element armor-piercing ammunition, a modern fire control device, which contains a ballistic computer that automatically corrects the sight depending on the air temperature and atmospheric pressure, as well as a rangefinder. But, according to the manufacturers, this type of rifle is purchased by the Ministry of Defense for two more years at best.
As noted by the NVO, it is precisely the refusal of the Ministry of Defense to purchase mass-produced small arms and the accompanying means of ensuring combat that is a factor that affects the stable operation of even the oldest and most famous defense enterprises. This problem became one of the acute topics raised at the meeting of the scientific and technical council of the Military-Industrial Commission under the government.
The military could not answer the question posed by the participants of the meeting to the military about the unreasonably low orders of the Ministry of Defense for melee weapons, that this is one of the main factors affecting the stability of enterprises involved in the production of this type of weapon. The defenders also expressed their bewilderment about the refusal to purchase modern weapons from the defense industry, emphasizing that such an approach to the orders of the military department leads to a reduction in staff and contradicts economic laws.
