In recent years, the Russian defense industry, fulfilling orders from the armed forces, has been paying special attention to the topic of promising sniper rifles. For several years, a number of new models of this class were presented, some of which have already entered service. It is quite expected that new Russian weapons attract the attention of foreign experts and weapon enthusiasts, and this interest is realized, among other things, in the form of new publications.
On December 12, the American edition of The National Interest published in The Buzz and Security columns a new article by author Charlie Gao entitled “Russian Army Snipers Have Rifles and Ammo That Can Pierce U. S. Body Armor "-" The snipers of the Russian army have rifles and cartridges that can penetrate the US bulletproof vests. " As is clear from the title, the topic of the publication was Russian sniper systems in the form of rifles and cartridges for them. In addition, the title of the publication directly spoke of the danger of such Russian developments for foreign armies.
As Ch. Gao writes at the beginning of his new article, participation in the Syrian and Ukrainian conflicts allowed the Russian military to gain rich combat experience. One of the features of the current wars is the active use of sniper tactics. The consequence of this was the development of the Russian sniper direction. The modern sniper of the Russian armed forces does not use the outdated "primitive technologies" of the Cold War.
Now much attention is paid to sniper weapons capable of hitting enemy personnel with their own means of protection. Russia currently has three sniper systems that pose a major threat to US soldiers using body armor. At the same time, as the author notes, three such systems actually cover a wide range of combat missions. These are SVDK rifles, various types of weapons chambered for.338 Lapua and an ASVK product.
The current sniper weapon of the Russian troops in the form of the SVD and SV-98 rifles uses a rifle cartridge 7, 62x54 mm R. By now, such systems have been "defeated" by American means of protection. These sniper rifles use a special 7N14 cartridge with an armor-piercing bullet weighing 152 grains (9.85 g) and accelerate the latter to a speed of 2,750 feet per second (840 m / s). There is also a 7N13 cartridge with a bullet of increased penetration, which has similar characteristics.
Such cartridges in their characteristics are similar to the American M2 AP Ball (.30-06 Springfield) ammunition, which has a 150 grain bullet (9, 72 g) and an initial velocity of 2740 feet per second (835 m / s). The US Army currently uses ESAPI / XSAPI body armor. These products were created taking into account the parameters of the Springfield cartridge in an armor-piercing configuration, and therefore can protect against its bullet. As a result, such protective equipment withstands being hit by Russian rifle bullets with a caliber of 7.62 mm.
Taking into account similar problems with existing sniper weapons, the Russian army ordered a new rifle for a similar purpose. In accordance with this order, in the recent past, an SVDK product (K - "large-caliber") was created, in the designation of which an increase in caliber was noted in comparison with the base weapon. In accordance with the requirements of the customer, such a rifle had to be able to penetrate body armor with a high level of protection.
Ch. Gao recalls that the SVDK sniper rifle was developed on the basis of the Tiger-9 product. The latter was a hunting rifle for the civilian market, created on the basis of the army SVD. First of all, it differed from the basic model Tiger-9 in the used ammunition: this rifle was developed for the more powerful cartridge 9, 3x64 mm Brenneke. The latter was originally created for hunting large African game, including elephants. On the basis of the Brenneke cartridge, the Russian industry has created its own ammunition for sniper rifles under the designation 7N33.
The 7N33 cartridge is equipped with a steel core bullet with a mass of 254 grains or 16, 46 g. The muzzle velocity of such a bullet is 2526 feet per second or 770 m / s. Thus, the new 7N33 cartridge is about 40% more powerful than the standard 7N13 rifle cartridge. As the author of The National Interest notes, the increased power of the cartridge for the SVDK is visible even when visually comparing the magazine of this rifle with the ammunition supply devices for the basic SVD. The magazine chambered for 9, 3x64 mm is distinguished by a noticeable superiority in size.
The standard optical sight of the SVDK rifle is the 1P70 "Hyperion" product with a variable magnification of 3-10x. This sight is a further development of the PSO-1 system with a fourfold increase, previously developed for the Dragunov sniper rifle. The SVDK rifle is equipped with a folding stock and its own bipod.
In general, as Ch. Gao writes, the SVDK rifle is a powerful self-loading sniper system, distinguished by a relatively low weight (6.5 kg), but at the same time capable of striking enemy body armor. Effective penetration of protection is provided at ranges up to 600 m. It is important that NATO countries do not have sniper systems comparable to the SVDK rifle.
Russian medium-caliber sniper systems, capable of hitting manpower in body armor, are various options for weapons chambered for.338 Lapua. One of the reasons for the active use of such a cartridge in Russian projects is its high performance when firing at long ranges. In addition, the.338 cartridge differs from the Russian 7N14 rifle by about twice the energy. At the moment, there is not a single body armor that can withstand the armor-piercing bullet of the.338 "Lapua" cartridge.
Russian snipers are actively using foreign.338 rifles chambered for an imported cartridge. These are Austrian products Steyr SSG 08, Finnish TRG 42 and British AI AWM. However, the situation in this area is gradually changing. Recently, the T-5000 rifle from the Russian company "Orsis" has become more and more famous. In addition, such weapons are already being exported. In particular, the T-5000 rifles in the modification chambered for 7, 62x51 mm NATO are in service with the Iraqi special operations forces and are used in battles against terrorists.
Back in 2015, Russian and Chinese snipers using Orsis products won several international competitions. However, such weapons have not yet been adopted by the Russian army. However, according to some reports, such systems have already been tested in the framework of the program for the creation of equipment for the soldier "Ratnik".
Ch. Gao recalls that the Orsis T-5000 rifle, with all its advantages, is still not without certain problems. In this context, he recalls the famous spring 2017 video filmed at the IWA-2017 exhibition. Then the visitor of the exhibition, trying to open the shutter of the exhibition sample, was forced to make noticeable efforts to turn and unlock it. The author of The National interest believes that this incident speaks of the insufficient perfection of the new Russian rifle.
Also, a variant of the.338 Lapua sniper rifle was developed by the Kalashnikov concern. The basis for this sample, which received the designation SV-338, was the already well-known SV-98 rifle. At the same time, any information about the acceptance of such weapons into service, or at least about its testing, has not yet been published.
The author notes that recent developments in the field of rifles chambered for.338 Lapua show several important trends. First of all, the appearance of such weapons suggests that the Russian military and security officials have a need to defeat manpower in body armor at long ranges. In addition, the very fact of the presence of the Orsis T-5000 and SV-338 rifles indicates, at least, the limited ability of Russia in the field of independent development and production of such weapons. Similar systems are produced abroad, but the Russian side prefers to create the necessary weapons on their own.
Many NATO countries are armed with both.338 Lapua cartridges and weapons for them. As a result, a significant number of rifles with characteristic capabilities have been created in a number of foreign countries, and their development continues. As an example of this, Ch. Gao cites the American Remington MSR rifle, which is in service with the US Special Operations Command. This weapon, designated as PSR (Precision Sniper Rifle), has a barrel chambered for.338 Lapua. It is noteworthy that the barrel of such a rifle is interchangeable, and the weapon can be quickly switched to the.300 WM or 7, 62x51 mm NATO cartridge.
Also, as a means of hitting targets in body armor can be used Russian rifles ASVK ("Army sniper rifle, large-caliber) and ASVKM. The ASVK product was created in the nineties in parallel with the SVDK and was supposed to become the so-called. anti-material rifle. However, in the future, this weapon has mastered other "specialties" characteristic of long-range rifles with sufficient accuracy.
According to Charlie Gao, KAFP rifles have been spotted in Syria and Ukraine. The product chambered for 12, 7x108 mm was used in battles to defeat light armored vehicles or other material. In addition, it was used as a high-powered sniper weapon. Thanks to its large caliber, the ASVK rifle is capable of penetrating any existing body armor. An attempt by an enemy fighter to hide from such a weapon behind any obstacle may also not lead to the desired results.
The ASVK rifle is built according to the bullpup scheme. At the same time, it has some differences from foreign weapons of a similar architecture. So, on the American rifle Barrett M95, the bolt handle is located directly on the bolt, in the back of the receiver. The Russian project, in turn, provides for the use of a thrust, with the help of which the handle is brought to the front of the weapon, which increases the convenience of the shooter.
Relatively recently, a new modification of the Russian large-caliber weapon was created under the designation ASVKM (M - "Modernized"). Due to the use of lighter materials, the weight of the product was reduced to 10 kg. Thus, the ASVKM is about 3 kg lighter than the American M107 rifle. The modernization project also provided for an increase in the resource of the barrel and the installation of a new muzzle brake.
Unlike SVDK rifles and a whole family of products chambered for.338 Lapua, which managed to get into only a narrow circle of special units, large-caliber ASVK and ASVKM are widely used by the army. It is known that at the beginning of 2017, such weapons were transferred to the units of the “special forces of the GRU”. In the future, they will be supplied to mountain and airborne units.
The author of The National Interest notes that NATO has analogues of the Russian ASVKM rifle, but not all of them can be compared with it in terms of size and weight. Such advantages of the Russian design are due to the use of the "bullpup" scheme and a unique skeletal layout.
His article Russian Army Snipers Have Rifles and Ammo That Can Pierce U. S. Body Armor”Ch. Gao concludes with interesting conclusions. He notes that sniper systems like the SVD and SV-98 are still in service with Russia, the characteristics of which do not allow penetrating American body armor and hitting their users. At the same time, new sniper systems capable of coping with such combat missions are being developed and put into service. The industry offers a variety of designs, from a converted hunting elephant rifle to a large-caliber bullpup with skeletal assembly.
Such samples of small arms, intended for Russian snipers, may look very unusual. At the same time, they are distinguished by high performance and are truly deadly.
