Russia launches intelligent sniper rifle

Russia surprised the West when it announced it had developed a sniper rifle with a guided bullet and an intelligent aiming system.

Smart guns

The Foundation for Advanced Research (FPI) is conducting research and development of smart sights, sniper rifles with guided bullets. The new bullet has special properties: it can penetrate steel and its range is up to 10 km, said FPI Director General Andrey Grigoriev.

In combat, using a sniper rifle to hit a moving target is a top priority, especially over relatively long distances.

"The guided-cartridge sniper rifle with a bullet made of two or more metals has the ability to penetrate steel and shoot at great distances. We have designed smart sights, guns with guided bullets and many other modern weapons," Grigoriev said.

Russian soldier with OSV-96 sniper rifle

In June 2015, FPI Deputy Director General Vitaly Davydov announced that Russia had tested “smart bullets” with a range of up to 10 km. To achieve high accuracy, the shooters need to get closer to the target, which means more danger.

Thus, the successful research and testing of this new type of ammunition will create conditions for Russian infantry to complete the mission of destroying enemy forces and ensuring their own safety.

Specializing in armored vehicles

Along with creating intelligent sniper rifles, Russia has also succeeded in researching and producing heavy sniper rifles that can easily deal with enemy armored forces.

Izvestia newspaper quoted a source from the Russian Defense Ministry on October 15 as saying that a new generation of heavy sniper rifles called KSV is being developed and will be deployed to the Russian military forces by 2020.

The KSV, which uses 23mm ammunition, will be assigned to special reconnaissance units within the structure of mechanized infantry regiments. The main task of the KSV gunner is to neutralize armored vehicles (with 15cm thick armor) from a distance of over 2,000m and enemy man-portable air defense missile systems.

The KSV is developed by the Tula Instrument Design Complex, a subsidiary of the state-owned Rostec Corporation. Detailed tactical and technical information about the KSV rifle has not been released.

"Currently, the development of the KSV is being carried out at the design project level. A new prototype of the new sniper rifle will soon be presented and undergo state-level testing before being put into mass service. This process will take about 2-3 years," Izvestia newspaper said.

According to Baodatviet.vn