Russia unveils underwater rifle.

In 2018, Russian security forces will be equipped with a new type of weapon capable of firing both on land and underwater.

"Currently, we have contracts with the Ministry of Defense, the Federal Security Service, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the National Guard for the supply of new rifles. Production of this special rifle series will begin immediately," the news site topwar.ru quoted Alexey Sorokin, head of the Russian National Design Bureau for Personal Weapons and Hunting Equipment, as saying.

The Russian ADS rifle can fire both on land and underwater. (Photo: armyrecognition.com).

According to Sorokin, the new rifle, named ADS, was first introduced at an exhibition in Abu Dhabi (UAE) in February 2015. Sputnik reported that the ADS is not an entirely new design but was developed based on the design of the ASM-DT underwater rifle series previously used by the Russian army.

A notable feature of the new ADS rifle is that it doesn't use penetrator rounds for underwater firing, which would otherwise be less effective on land. Instead, it uses standard 5.45mm ammunition specially designed for both land and underwater use. This unique design is currently being kept secret.

The ADS features a bullpup design, meaning the magazine is positioned behind the trigger to reduce the overall length of the weapon. The prototype ADS was shown to be just over 60cm long and weigh 4.5kg. Its effective range on land is 500m, and underwater is 25m. The ADS has three firing modes: single shot, three-round burst, and fully automatic.

Currently, the ADS is undergoing further testing by Russian Navy special forces to refine it.

According to Khoahoc.tv