"Military Industrial Courier" looks at life through the scope of a sniper rifle
It is believed that in the Russian law enforcement agencies, unlike similar Western structures, little attention is paid to the development of the sniper business. Some domestic experts argue that world-class shooters are only in the Special Forces Center of the FSB of Russia, but they are armed with old British rifles.
Meanwhile, in industry publications and social networks, you can see photographs from various competitions of sniper pairs, where not only employees of the Federal Security Service participate, but also military personnel of the Ministry of Defense and internal troops, even police officers armed with modern rifles, including foreign ones, and equipped GPS receivers, weather stations, rangefinders, etc.
So how does sniping develop in Russia, what are the snipers of various law enforcement agencies armed with, what equipment and uniforms do they prefer to use? Acting snipers from the Special Operations Command of the Ministry of Defense, a special operations brigade of the Southern Military District, one of the Airborne Forces units, the Special Forces Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and SOBR TsSN of the Ministry of Internal Affairs agreed to answer these questions to the publication.
Sniping tactics
Currently, in the Russian Ministry of Defense, sniper units (companies, sometimes separate platoons) are included not only in the Airborne Forces and the Marine Corps, but even in motorized rifle and tank brigades. Also, each battalion or detachment of special forces includes a sniper group, pairs of which are assigned to reconnaissance groups "for the task," as they say in the special forces. In special-purpose units of the internal troops, sniper pairs are not reduced to separate groups, but are routinely included in platoons.
For several years now, a sniper school has been operating in the Russian Ministry of Defense in Solnechnogorsk near Moscow, where trainees take three courses: the first is individual training, the second is action in a sniper pair, and the third is obtaining the “Instructor” qualification. The training is quite difficult, so the percentage of those expelled is also high.
Similar courses operate in the FSB and FSO, and in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and in the internal troops they look with envy at colleagues from the Ministry of Defense. “It is immediately clear that the military leadership is sick of this matter, understands how snipers should act. Why don't they give someone a rifle,”says an officer of the BB.
It is noteworthy that, regardless of the department, the steam is equipped according to the same principle. The first number is armed with the so-called precision weapon system - a non-automatic sniper rifle, also called a bolt or simply a bolt. The second number of the pair, in turn, is armed with a self-loading SVD, it also carries all the equipment, including a tactical telescope (TZT), a range finder, a weather station, etc.
The organization of the pair, where the second numbers are armed with automatic sniper rifles, is traditional for the units of the armed forces of Great Britain, France and the Federal Republic of Germany, it is sometimes called English.
In the American scheme, the second number is armed not with an automatic sniper, but with an assault rifle with an underbarrel grenade launcher. It is noteworthy that both schemes are present in the US military. In particular, in the Marine Corps, sniper pairs are organized according to the American scheme, and in the US Army there is an English one, where the first number is armed with an M-24 rifle, and the second with a self-loading M110.
“After the Great Patriotic War, Soviet snipers never acted in pairs. There was one shooter with an SVD. But already in Afghanistan, they began to attach a submachine gunner to the sniper for protection. He, however, did not wear any equipment, but he defended the sniper and worked with him in tandem. Snipers acted in the same way during the first Chechen war,”recalls an officer of the SOBR Ministry of Internal Affairs.
According to the interlocutor of the Military-Industrial Courier, sniper pairs of the FSB Special Purpose Center were the first to work according to the British scheme, from where it gradually spread to other law enforcement agencies.
It is noteworthy that in addition to the bolt rifle, the first number for close-range combat is also armed with the Ak-74 (in the internal troops) or the silent AS / VSS (in the special forces of the GRU and the Airborne Forces).
“I carry the rifle in a backpack in a special compartment, and in my hands I have an AK-74, as well as a pistol in a holster on a belt system. It turns out that the sniper has the greatest load in the unit. Instead of AK, a sniper can be armed with a Vityaz submachine gun,”says an officer of the internal troops.
His colleagues from the GRU special forces and the Airborne Forces have a similar ammunition load. True, according to the officer of the Airborne Forces, the second number would still be advisable, in addition to the SVD, to equip another AK with a PBS.
The tasks of the sniper pairs differ from agency to agency. “The main thing for us is observation, adjustment of artillery fire and air operations behind enemy lines. In exceptional cases, the elimination of enemy commanders and especially important targets. The most important thing is secrecy, we are, first of all, scouts,”notes an officer of the special forces brigade of the Ministry of Defense.
His colleague from the Airborne Forces adds that in conditions of a local conflict, special forces snipers have other tasks: “In the so-called buffer zone, we, having settled secretly, can direct artillery and aviation fire at enemy units, as well as independently hunt for his personnel, and sometimes technology."
An example of such work is the actions of the SBU sniper pairs in Novorossiya last August, when they completely blocked the road between Krasnodon and Luhansk, not only adjusting artillery fire, but also independently destroying enemy vehicles.
For snipers of the SOBR Ministry of Internal Affairs, the main task is to monitor and destroy terrorists, often in urban settings. “We are participating in search and reconnaissance activities. Sometimes, we look for, block and destroy terrorists in settlements, in the forest or in the mountains,”admits the officer of the internal troops.
Once in position, the sniper pair deploy weapons, equipment, communications and surveillance. “The second number with the help of TZT helps the first to find and identify the target. The rangefinder determines not only the distance, but also the elevation angle of the target, and data on the wind speed, humidity and temperature are taken from the weather station. Based on these parameters, the first number calculates corrections vertically and horizontally and enters them into the sight with the help of special drums, as they are officially called - "corner entry mechanisms," says a special forces officer of the Ministry of Defense.
But the work of the second issue does not end there. “After the shot, the second number is closely watching the target in TZT. Ideally, a sniper should hit it with the first shot, but at long range the slightest gust of wind can lead to a miss. In this case, the main task of the second issue is to track the contrail of a bullet flying close to the target and to correct for the second shot. Depending on how the bullet passed relative to the target, the first number changes the aiming point and fires a second shot. You can, of course, again try to introduce amendments to the sight, but if the shot must be fired quickly, then it will be much faster to move the sight and the rifle to the right or left, the paratrooper officer explains.
“If the bullet went higher or lower, then there was an error in measuring the distance to the target. The laser rangefinder gives an accurate distance, but, unfortunately, they are not available in all units, and often the range has to be measured using special scales on the sights and TZT,”says the spetsnaz officer.
What's in the cases?
It should be noted that at present only the special forces of the Interior Ministry's Internal Troops are fully "packed" with domestic sniper weapons. “We are armed with SV-98 and MTs-116, respectively SVD and AS and VSS. The SV and MC are chambered for the domestic cartridge 7.62x54 mm, it is close to the western one.308 (7.62x51),”says the officer of the internal troops. Until recently, snipers of the SOBR TsSN Ministry of Internal Affairs were also armed, but now Finnish rifles TRG of the company "Sako" of.308 caliber have entered the squadron.
The units of the Ministry of Defense use the Austrian Mannlicher rifles SSG-04 (caliber.308) and SSG-08 (.300 and.338). “Some 'experts' like to say that the Mannlicher is a rifle designed for hunters, and for special forces operating behind enemy lines, it is not suitable. The sniper complex requires a careful attitude towards itself, all the little things are important, from this success develops. While you are running, sometimes something will fall asleep in the trunk. There may be moisture if caught in the rain, - the Airborne Forces officer shares his experience. - You take with you a can of oil and a wiper to "drive away" the barrel before firing. A good sniper will have no problem. We must watch the rifle."
It is noteworthy that the Command of the Special Operations Forces tried to purchase the 7.62 mm NK-417 of the Heckler und Koch company as a self-loading rifle, which is used as a weapon of the second number of a sniper pair in the American Delta and DEVGRU. “A couple of years ago we tried to push through the purchase for our needs HK-417, but failed. Thanks to Alexei Navalny, if you remember the story with the allegedly inflated prices for the purchase of Austrian Glock pistols and in the future with sights,”says an officer from the KSSO.
SSG-08 caliber.338 (8, 6x70) are in service only in the special forces of the KSSO, causing the envy of snipers from other special forces units of the Ministry of Defense, their colleagues from law enforcement agencies. “The.338 caliber ammunition has many times better ballistic coefficient, longer firing range than.308. External factors influence much less. For example, when shooting at 500 meters, I have to make corrections on my SV-98, make take-offs. And the shooter p. 338, there is wind - no, lies down and hits the target without any unnecessary movements. To be honest, my dream is SSG-08, but the Interior Ministry does not have them. In the same caliber, I would not refuse the Russian T-5000,”says the officer of the internal troops.
A colleague from the spetsnaz brigade agrees with him: “In terms of profile, we mainly work in the mountains, maybe the range there is small compared to the plain, but the weather, altitude, pressure difference are strongly influenced, often it is necessary to shoot upwards with a significant excess. Of course, from SSG-04 we hit the target, but from SSG-08 it would be much easier."
According to the SOBR officer, the Finnish TRG, due to its dimensions and barrel length, is good for solving police tasks, but the snipers of the detachment would very much like to get models of sniper rifles for caliber 8.6x70 mm.
Unlike foreign rifles, Russian ones, according to the interlocutors of the publication, have to pay increased attention and constantly improve. “I don’t want to say anything bad about SV-98 and MTs-116, but everything in them is somehow not worked out, not thought out. For example, the new version of the SV-98 - the stock is light, but what prevented you from making a folding stock? The British AW has had one for more than 20 years. The regular bipod does not hold the rifle in place. Barely, it falls to one side, which means that the sight is lost. These are sniper rifles, everything should be neat, miniature, and there the screws are the same as in the electrical outlet,”the Interior Troops officer assesses.
But all the interlocutors of the publication declared their interest in the Russian T-5000 rifle of the Orsis company.“Orsis” is still damp, but I am sure that it will be brought up and everything will be fine,”the Airborne Forces officer notes. His colleague from the internal troops emphasizes that the T-5000 is produced in Russia: “The current international situation is difficult, and foreign firms may refuse to service. Even if you just need to modify the rifle, it is much more difficult to contact an Austrian or Finnish company than our Russian one. If necessary, I can drive up to Orsis at any time and solve all the problems."
The officers of the Ministry of Defense who use the "Mannlicher" note that from the point of view of ergonomics, there are no special complaints about the rifles.
According to a sniper from the Airborne Forces, the only thing that was additionally installed for the SSG-04 were the so-called suppressors, nozzles to attenuate the sound.
“In fact, these are silencers that mask the sound of a shot, but since the bullet is not subsonic, when it leaves the bore, it overcomes the supersonic barrier and a pop is heard. With a suppressor, it is much quieter,”explains the Airborne Forces officer.
On the MTs-116 and SV-98, SOBR officers and officers of the Internal Troops independently buy new bipods, giving preference to Harris products, pads and adapters for Piccatini and Vivera rails.
Both the special forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the special forces of the Ministry of Defense use a large-caliber 12, 7-mm sniper rifle ASVK, also known under the designation 6S8 "Kord", made according to the "bullpup" scheme. The SOBR TsSN is armed with a silent large-caliber sniper complex VSK "Exhaust". It should be noted that the Russian military department has purchased a small batch of South African Truvelo.50 sniper rifles.
“We use 12.7x108 mm ammunition as a sniper cartridge, and 12.7x99 mm ammunition in the South African rifle, aka NATO's.50BMG. In terms of characteristics, this cartridge is better than ours. True, Truvela itself is a very specific rifle. The recoil is so strong that the first shot pushes you off the spot. After a couple of days, my shoulder and spine hurt a lot and even go to the toilet more often, so the recoil affects the kidneys,”the special forces officer shares his feelings. A colleague from the internal troops adds that shooting with most large-caliber rifles generally affects health not for the better: “These are not only problems with the spine, lower back, etc. The pressure generated after the shot negatively affects the eyeball and the fundus. We have only Kord in our subdivision, while others also have OSV-96. In OSV-96, due to the flame arrester and the design of the rifle itself, the recoil momentum is less than that of the 6S8. But Kord has a slightly higher accuracy."
In all units, not only simple SVDs are in service, but also SVD-S with a folding stock. However, all interviewed snipers emphasized that they prefer to use the pre-1970 SVD. "Until that time, the rifle was produced with a rifling pitch of 320 millimeters, but later, so that from the SVD it was possible to shoot not only special sniper ammunition, a step was made 240 millimeters, and this greatly affected the accuracy," explains the officer of the internal troops.
His colleague from the Airborne Forces emphasizes that from the "old" SVDs, an experienced shooter can put bullets in a circle equal to one so-called Minute of Angel (1MOA - a bullet hitting a circle with a diameter of 2.98 centimeters from a distance of 100 meters). New rifles fit only 2 MOA.
I see the goal
In the SOBR and the special forces of the internal troops, there are certain difficulties with standard sights for bolt rifles. “We have PPO-3, PPO-5 and POSP running regularly. This is not to say that this is the best option. For example, they have to be "zeroed" when used every day. True, now Leupold and Night Force have appeared. But there are technical problems, because on the MTs-116 and SV-98 the sight is mounted on the so-called dovetail, and all modern sights are installed on the Piccatini or Vivera rail. You have to look for adapters for your own money, then modify them. But here, too, a problem arises: due to the adapter, the sight turns out to be higher than the place of the standard installation, which means that the aiming line “lifts up”, which is not very good, "the officer of the internal troops notes. According to him, now the division has a Russian 5-20 sight of the company "Daedalus". The same ones are already being regularly supplied to SOBR.
“If we compare the“Night Force”sight and the Dedal's 5-20, then the latter has lighter optics. When you look through Night Force, there is too much yellow. When shooting at night it is important to adjust the illumination of the reticle. When you look at a bright object, for example, at a lighted window at home, you need to increase the brightness, and decrease it in a night forest. Often you have to do this very quickly so as not to lose the goal. On "Night Force" you need to open a special compartment, get a screwdriver from there and twist the backlight with it. And at 5-20 there is a special rubberized button, you press it and there is no problem,”an officer of the Interior Troops issues a conclusion. In addition, at 5-20 there is a so-called blockage level indicator. “When you shoot at night, chances are that you will fail the scope. It is clear that in this case, especially at long range, it will not be possible to hit. It is very easy to make such a mistake on our sights. At 5-20, if you rejected the sight even by one degree, the reticle starts blinking until you straighten the sight,”sums up the officer of the Interior Ministry.
Snipers of the SOBR Ministry of Internal Affairs put not only on the SV-98 and MC-116, but also on the Finnish TRG various sights of the Leupold company, purchased for their own money.
The officers of the Ministry of Defense are also not completely satisfied with the standard sights on their Mannlichers. “The Leupold Mark-4 is a so-called multi-turn, when you make amendments you have to turn the drums for too long, so there is a big chance of losing zero,” says the Airborne Forces officer.
For night shooting in the airborne forces and special forces of the GRU, special attachments are used - night vision devices installed in front of the lens of an optical sight. “At 500 meters, you are already shooting at the silhouette. Light loss on the attachment itself plus on the scope - that's the result. But I think that for rifles of this class as SSG-04 and SSG-08, it is better to make a separate night sight combined with a thermal imager, or just a thermal imaging sight. We do not have such people yet,”complains an officer of the Airborne Forces.
The special forces of the Interior Ministry use not only standard night sights DS-4 and DS-6, but also attachments, including thermal imaging. “There are no special complaints about DS. With these scopes, I shot even at long ranges and kept within 1 MOA. A good night nozzle is the American PVS-27, but it is very expensive. True, we sometimes manage to take them through acquaintances and friends. When performing service and combat missions, we mainly work at a range of 350-500 meters, so it is much more convenient to put the attachment in front of the sight,”explains the Interior Ministry officer. According to him, during the last mission, the snipers of his subdivision managed to test a thermal imaging attachment from the Infratek company: “The weather was bad. Fog. Visibility 5-10 meters. And through the nozzle, I could freely conduct aimed fire at 250-300 meters. There are much better products, from the same Daedalus, but for us, alas, they are not bought."
Russian snipers of special forces told the "Military-Industrial Courier" about the things without which sniper work is unthinkable.
Snipers pay much attention not only to "bolt" rifles, but also to self-loading SVDs. “In general, snipers believe that it will not be possible to shoot accurately from a chrome-plated barrel. And just such a barrel is on the SVD. But despite this, the Dragunov sniper rifle is good for its tasks,”notes a sniper from the internal troops.
Rifles of the "Lego" system
According to all interlocutors of the "VPK", in order for the SVD to meet modern requirements, it is necessary to install new sights, bipods, Piccatini and Vivera rails, etc. on it.“The most optimal position for shooting from any sniper rifle, including SVD, is lying with a support or lying with a bipod. Therefore, for our dragoons we buy a Harris bipod with a swivel base, and we put a butt plate on the butt to reduce the impact of recoil,”says the paratrooper sniper.
The SVD is also being finalized in the special forces of the GRU, the internal troops, the SOBR TsSN. In addition to the bipod and the "butt plate", the standard PSO-1 sight is also changing. “For a soldier-sniper in a motorized rifle squad, this is a great sight, but for us it is not suitable. In our division, we change it to 5-20 from Daedalus. When firing from the SVD at a distance of up to 500 meters, the inversion of the bullet is clearly visible through this sight and the sniper, without the aid of a second number equipped with a tactical telescope, can make corrections or change the aiming point,”says a sniper from the internal troops.
True, his colleague from the GRU special forces notes that PSO-1 also has positive aspects: “This sight has a“parabola”scale, which allows, if you know the height of an object, according to the formula“thousandths”(it is also called“blow in a thousand ») Measure the distance to the target. This, of course, is not a laser rangefinder and the accuracy will not be the same, but the "parabola" is always at hand and you can use it at any time."
His colleague from the Airborne Forces adds: despite the fact that modernized PSO-1M2 are now entering the troops, snipers still prefer to replace these scopes with more advanced ones purchased at their own expense: “We take Leupold products. But with sights for SVD, there is one caveat. The lenses of most scopes are designed so that the recoil of the rifle when fired is strictly backward. But the SVD is a self-loading rifle and when fired, the bolt first moves back, but then strikes forward and not every sight can withstand such a shock."
According to the interlocutor of the publication, the Airborne Forces began to receive new night sniper sights for the Dragunov rifle - PN-93-4 with a third-generation electro-optical converter: “This sight is being put on the regular place of PSO-1. I would like to say that PN-93-4 is a good enough sight for its tasks”. But as in the case with other models of small arms that are in service with the Ministry of Defense, Internal Troops and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, for new sights on the SVD, adapters have to be installed under the Piccatini and Vivera rails. “A few years ago, it was problematic to find the right adapter for the SVD. True, there are a lot of such products on the market now, and they are made not only by foreign, but also by Russian companies. However, the prices are high,”the spetsnaz sniper complains.
The original solution to the problem of installing new sights on the Dragunov rifle was found in the special forces of the explosives. “We were supplied to the center with Ak-74RM assault rifles with a pistol grip, a tactical grip, and most importantly, a bar was installed on the tide of the receiver, it is also called the“dovetail”. We removed the cover, rearranged it on the SVD and installed the Dedal's sight 5-20,”the special forces soldier of the internal troops shares his experience. The Dragunov rifle, modified in this way, showed itself perfectly during the performance of service and combat missions.
What do you guys have in your backpacks?
As already mentioned, for an accurate shot, a sniper needs to know the range to the target, as well as have data on temperature, air humidity, etc. “Our“gentleman's set”is a weather station, a range finder, and a tactical telescope (TZT). True, the Ministry of Defense gives us only TZT on a regular basis,”says a sniper from the GRU special forces.
According to his colleague from the Airborne Forces, all the necessary electronic equipment has to be bought at his own expense: “We are given a Zeiss TZT, but it is large enough and it is not very convenient to carry it behind enemy lines. Therefore, we take the M-4 Leupold pipe, it is much more compact and well suited for our tasks. He also noted that it is supposed to use laser reconnaissance devices LPR-2 or LPR-3 as a rangefinder.“But they are so oversized that it makes no sense to take them for a real task. We buy a Leica Rangemaster 1600 for our own money; at a distance of up to 600 meters, this rangefinder does its job well. But for a long range, it lacks power. There is another problem: the Rangemaster's laser beam is clearly visible through special optics and therefore it can unmask the position of the sniper. Vectronix has good rangefinders, capable of measuring not only the range, but also the azimuth, and even the elevation angle of the target, and most importantly, they are compact. But the price of such products is from 600 thousand rubles and more, and it is difficult to get them. The Rangemaster costs only 60 thousand and you can freely buy it not only in the store, but even on Ebay,”continues the paratrooper officer.
The spetsnaz soldier confirms that even a commercial laser rangefinder is still an unaffordable luxury for many snipers: “Now laser rangefinders have become mandatory for us. But in some sniper subdivisions, not only in motorized rifle and tank brigades, but also in special forces, the range is measured by scales-"parabolas" in PSO-1 or in tactical telescopes."
“We do not have regular weather stations either. As we joke, for the data you need to call the Hydrometeorological Center. Therefore, we buy Kestrol 4500 for our own money,”says a sniper from the Airborne Forces. True, this situation is not in all special forces of the Ministry of Defense. In particular, the state has recently been purchasing all the necessary products for the snipers of the Special Operations Command.
At the same time, the so-called ZRT (telescopes) issued in the Soviet Union are issued to the snipers of the special forces of the explosives as a tactical telescope. “To be honest, we envy the snipers of the Ministry of Defense, who have Zeiss and Lupold's TZTs. Our ZRT can be used exclusively for educational purposes. The inversion of the bullet in such a telescope can be seen up to a maximum of 500 meters, and even if you're lucky. Moreover, now these air defense systems are no longer produced, and those that are given to us are from warehouses. Therefore, it is very important whether the storage conditions have been observed, whether the silica gel has been changed, etc.,”says a special forces sniper VV.
Rangefinders from Bushnel are supplied as standard for the internal troops. “True, they do not measure further than 600 meters. But the set with the Sych-3 thermal imaging binoculars, which is now being purchased for the reconnaissance units of the internal troops, includes the Vectronix PLRF-10 rangefinder. This is a rather expensive product, costing more than 250 thousand rubles, but it also measures the range by more than two thousand meters. Although, by and large, this rangefinder is not suitable for us. It is rather an observation device that only shows the range and azimuth. And we also need the target elevation angle. FSO has an excellent combined thermal and night rangefinder Vectronix-21. But it costs more than two million rubles and we cannot afford it,”the MVD sniper regrets.
In the arsenal of snipers there are also so-called active headphones that muffle loud sounds, in particular shots and explosions, and amplify weak ones. But headphones aren't always popular with snipers. “I don't need simple active headphones. Need "ears" compatible with radio stations. But they do not always connect to our standard communications equipment,”explains a sniper from the GRU special forces. His colleague from the Airborne Forces prefers a simple headset to headphones: “We have active headphones, but we use them mainly in competitions, only occasionally in combat work. In the forest, you need to constantly listen, so we use these products only at targeted events. But they are incompatible with our means of communication."
Habitation technique
“To carry sniper rifles, we use backpacks with a special compartment, in particular the Eberlystock Operator G-4 or the Terminator of the same company. We also have special covers from BlackHawk. But the cover is more suitable for competitions and shooting ranges. We take only backpacks "for the task". Now the Russian company Gruppa-99 offers an interesting solution for snipers - a special cargo frame, on which, depending on the task, you can simultaneously attach a sniper rifle cover and a cargo bag,”explains the paratrooper officer. But his colleague from the GRU special forces complains that he has to be content with regular backpacks: “They do not have a special compartment, you have to wrap the rifle in protective cloth and attach it to the outer side mounts. It is clear that this is not very convenient. If you get hooked, you can easily knock off the sight. But there are no other options yet."
The internal troops also prefer backpacks with special compartments. “We have several variants of covers, mainly products for hunters, some were purchased from the Russian company“Corps of Survival”. But now we are looking closely at the backpacks,”says an employee of the SOBR TSSN.
An important element of a sniper's equipment is a heat-insulating mat that allows you to lie on the ground for a long time. All interlocutors of the publication said that the standard supplied products not only do not protect against hypothermia, but are also dangerous to health. “They used to give polyurethane rugs. They didn’t last long, and lying on them in the cold was not only uncomfortable, but also dangerous, it was easy to get hypothermia or chill the kidneys. Now they give rugs in a special cover from the "Warrior" set. In terms of insulating properties, it is the same as the old one, but for some reason its dimensions are twice as large. And it comes in a bag the size of a backpack,”explains a GRU special forces sniper.
According to the interlocutor, everyone chooses mats for his department individually: “We take them from sports stores. The choice is good there. But the self-inflating ones in our mountains do not live long. The slightest puncture and it is already useless."
Another important element of a sniper's equipment is a sapper shovel. “It only seems that it is easy to lie on the ground. Even on the rug, after a few hours, muscles begin to ache and numb. Therefore, depending on how much time you have, it is better to dig a trench for prone shooting, or better for knee shooting. In such a trench, you can sit down and rest. I personally prefer the usual small sapper, and the folding American paddles break very quickly, and it is quite problematic to dig a trench with them,”says the paratrooper officer.
His colleague from the special forces of the GRU claims that the sapper shovel is the best friend of a scout and a sniper. “Not everyone has shoulder blades. But in the "four" there is always one scapula. Although, to be honest, you can't quickly dig up a position everywhere. For example, in the areas where we carry out service and combat missions, there are areas where the earth is like granules. The American folding one will break, and after the work of our MPL all hands will be in calluses. And then how to shoot ?! I personally think that it is better to spend time looking, but find a normal position,”explains a sniper from the Interior Ministry's special forces.
It is important for the sniper not only to prepare the position, but also to disguise himself. All interlocutors of the publication use the so-called "Gili" suits (pants and jacket trimmed with special strips of fabric) or their Russian analogue "Leshy" as camouflage suits. “We have a summer Leshy and a winter Leshy. But we offer another option - a suit, on which not only strips of fabric are already sewn, but there are also fasteners where you can attach other camouflage elements. This way you can better adapt the suits to the terrain by attaching patches that match the color,”says a sniper from the Interior Ministry.
I recognize a sniper by his clothes
“We are regularly given the Izlom field uniform, but it is so sad that I don’t even want to talk. From thermal underwear we have only cotton "officer" underwear. There are no modern membrane suits, no softshells (windproof and waterproof fabric that quickly wicks sweat. - AM), and even less warmths (a warm jacket with Primaloft insulation), - says the officer of the internal troops.- You have to buy everything for your own money. We take Russian thermal underwear, in particular, made by the "Corps of Survival". Now we have started buying the Italian firm X-bionics. Manufacturers meet us halfway and sell at almost the purchase price. Quite good products from the Belarusian company "Garsing". For the last business trip, we took from them field suits with sewn-in knee pads and membrane suits."
His colleagues from the SOBR Ministry of Internal Affairs routinely receive summer camouflage in the “Doll” color scheme, as well as insulated jackets and trousers made of SOBR-2000 styling, under which Polartec or fleece suits are put on when performing the task. It is clear that SOBR fighters are not satisfied with these kits in many ways. “We take thermal underwear from the firms SPLAV and BASK, but the Italian X-bionics is very expensive and therefore we rarely buy it. Membrane suits are from the "Survival Corps" company, and we hardly use softshell suits, our snipers mostly lie in positions, and do not run with backpacks in the mountains. The so-called 7th layers of the American PCU and ECWCS kits were tested as a "greenhouse". But they turned out to be inconvenient for us. In particular, these suits have a large open collar through which all the heat quickly escapes,”explains the SOBR officer.
Servicemen of the Ministry of Defense have now received a new multilayer VKPO set produced by BTK groups. “Now VKPO is criticized, but personally I like it. After all, until recently we “for all tasks” wore “slides” or the so-called mountain set with an instantly torn demi-season field suit, fur socks with ties and other meaningless things. I would like to note that the so-called 5th layer, which is also the pants and jacket from the "softshell" of the American PCU, is torn literally in a day when it reaches the "task" in the mountains. A good softshell suit was offered by the Russian company Gruppa-99, but, unfortunately, it is not being produced now,”says a sniper from the GRU special forces.
His colleague from the Airborne Forces believes that from VKPO it is worth using only thermal underwear and a Polartec jacket: “To be honest, all the other elements of the kit are of poor quality. Therefore, for our money, we take elements of the American PCU for special forces and combined arms ECWCS in coyote or cartoons colors. We take warm gloves from Alpindustriya, special insulated shoe covers, both worn in the parking lot instead of boots, and those worn over shoes, they are necessary when lying for a long time in very cold weather."
Another problem is the selection of shoes, since the standard supplied products are mostly unsuitable for wearing. “In our uniform crocodile boots, under the influence of loads, the seams are quickly torn, the sole falls off. Yes, and the leg is trembling too much,”says a sniper from the internal troops.
His colleague from the GRU Special Forces brigade has the same problems: “I'm looking closely at Salomon Quest. Bribes that they are used by many Western special forces, but the price stops - almost 14 thousand rubles. Not a bad option for a Faraday product. Of course, they also have problems, but in terms of price and quality, they are still the best option for me, especially models with a membrane."
We are growing!
The art of sniper in the Russian law enforcement agencies is developing very dynamically. There are also problems, but one can still hope that they are not caused by systemic errors and miscalculations, but rather become "growing pains". It must be admitted that for several years the Russian security forces have made a sharp qualitative leap in sniping.
First-hand
At the request of the publication, a sniper from the special forces brigade commented on several popular films showing the work of snipers.
Old "Sniper" starring Tom Beringer is a very good movie. Of course, the sniper's work is not shown there in full, but the features of camouflage and covert movement are very clearly visible. But the recent "Shooter" with Michael Wahlberg is generally complete nonsense, although the authors tried to show the work of a sniper. In particular, you can see how important it is to take into account the weather, the characteristics of weapons, etc. But all this is drowned in a senseless and merciless "action". The protagonist fires a 10mm bullet from a CheyTac rifle at a tin can, and then the same deformed bullet is fired from a.50 caliber rifle. Well, how do the authors imagine the flight of a broken bullet fired from a rifle of a different caliber, and even 1.5 kilometers? And the Oscar-nominated American Sniper, to be honest, looks more like a hack. The main character does not work in pairs, but alone, at best he is simply guarded by a Marine. I was just lying with a sniper rifle, but immediately dropped it and ran to storm the building.
Not a bad film - the recently released "Battle of Sevastopol". Of course, this is not about modern snipers. In the Great Patriotic War, much was different, and the film itself is more about personal drama and love, but there are still a couple of interesting places.
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