WSS "Vintorez" and AS "Val"

VSS (Specialty Sniper Rifle) is a noiseless sniper rifle for special purpose units. The GRAU index is 6P29. It was developed in the 1980s in the Central Research Institute of Steel Works in Klimovsk under the guidance of PI Serdyukov. The name "Vintorez" remained in use after its use in design documentation.

The special automatic machine -SA "Val" and special sniper rifle-VSS "Vintorez", using special cartridges of the caliber of nine millimeters, despite their age, enjoy the well-deserved love and respect not only for the fighters of the special forces of the law enforcement bodies, the military personnel of the special troops of the GRU, But also ordinary military scouts.

Thanks to the use of special cartridges SP-5 and SP-6 and, as it is customary to say, the integrated silencer AC and BCC not only shoot almost noiselessly, but also able to penetrate the elements of the individual armor protection of the enemy, corresponding to the 3rd class according to the Russian GOST, in particular bulletproof vests And protective helmets, at a range of up to 400 meters.

As an officer of the Air Force paratrooper told a columnist of the newspaper Military-Industrial Courier, when the 45th separate airborne reconnaissance regiment was formed in Kubinka outside Moscow in 1993, it was not immediately possible to find the BCC and the AU for this unique military unit. "They were mostly in GRU special task forces brigades and then in very limited numbers, and knowing about the possibilities of these noiseless" trunks ", nobody wanted to share.

But in the special purpose brigade of the armed forces of Belarus, which was still based in the Soviet era in Maryina Gorka, there were both the AU and the ARIA. In the USSR, she was considered one of the best brigades, and her commanders knew the value of these systems. However, Belarusians did not have SP-5 and SP-6 cartridges and their delivery was not foreseen. Therefore, although with a squeak, they still changed the Russian GRAU AU and WBU to other examples of small arms, "- recalls the interlocutor. The scout also noted that it was the AU and the ARIA that ensured the high efficiency of the 45th Orp and the special forces of the FSB during the storming of Grozny in the winter of 1994-1995.

"We then stood in a cannery in Grozny. Snipers of militants constantly harassed us, especially at night. I lost five fighters killed and wounded for a couple of days. When the paratroopers arrived with night vision devices and noiseless "snipers", we immediately breathed a sigh, - told a columnist of the Military Industrial Courier a high-ranking representative of the Defense Ministry, then a commander of a motorized rifle platoon. But still more than 20 years have passed, and no matter how wonderful the AU and BCC are, they need to be modernized.

"In the middle of the 2000s, we tried to somehow independently install on SCD and AU new sights. For example, the regular PSO-1 now, frankly, an anachronism. But if you can order a lot for Kalashnikov rifles abroad, then for Valov and Vintorez because of their secrecy, there is no such possibility. So we figured out how to install the "Picatinny" and "Vivera" slats, LCU and even tactical lights. They independently drilled, fastened adapters, etc. The weapon is excellent, but it is necessary that it conforms to modern requirements for "overshoes," - explains an officer of one of the special forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

At present, these problems are largely resolved. Thus, according to the leadership of the Tula Arms Factory, now, in collaboration with the developer Vala and Vintoreza, the Klymovsk Central Scientific and Technical Institute is actively working to improve the AU and the Air Force.

And soon, a silent automatic and sniper rifle will be presented with the installed slats "Picatinny" and "Vivera", so that it will be possible to strengthen not only modern sniper, but also collimating and holographic sights, to which you can also additionally put so-called magnifiers.

It is noteworthy that it is not only about popular among fighters of special units of foreign Aimpoint and Eotech, but also about the sights of domestic development. And the usual plastic stores will be replaced by transparent ones, allowing to control ammunition consumption. "To be honest, now we have good night vision sights, so for operations in the dark we would like to receive not new developments, but LTSU, whose ray is visible in the NNV.

We at one time independently fastened the target designators to our "Shafts", but this was artisanal, "the officer-special forces officer shared his impressions with the" VPK "observer. Now thanks to the TOZ problems will be solved and the unique silent machines and sniper rifles will meet the requirements of such demanding customers as fighters and special forces officers, scouts as much as possible.