The OTs-03 SVU (, , Sniper Rifle Shortened) is a

bullpup A bullpup firearm is one with its firing grip located in front of the Chamber (firearms), breech of the weapon, instead of behind it. This creates a weapon with a shorter overall length for a given barrel length, and one that is often lighter, ...

designated marksman rifle A designated marksman rifle (DMR) is a modern telescopic sight, scoped high-Accuracy and precision, precision rifle used by infantry in the designated marksman (DM) role. It generally fills the engagement effective range, range gap between a serv ...

. The SVU was developed to meet the needs of the security forces of the

Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation (MVD; , ''Ministerstvo vnutrennikh del'') is the interior ministry of Russia. The MVD is responsible for law enforcement in Russia through its agencies the Police of Russia, Migratio ...

, such as

OMON OMON is a system of military special police units within the Armed Forces of Russia. It previously operated within the structures of the Soviet and Russian Ministries of Internal Affairs (MVD). Originating as the special forces unit of the So ...

. The SVU was first seen in use in the

First Chechen War The First Chechen War, also referred to as the First Russo-Chechen War, was a struggle for independence waged by the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria against the invading Russia, Russian Federation from 1994 to 1996. After a mutually agreed on treaty ...

. Originally, the plan was to just slightly modernize the aging SVD, but the designers eventually realised that the configuration of the weapon would have to be completely altered, leading to the creation of the SVU. A special muzzle brake was added that could absorb up to 40% of the recoil energy and an elastic butt stock with lamellar spring was non-rigidly attached to the receiver. The acoustics of the rifle were also improved by adding a sound suppressor. The other main improvements made to the SVU over the SVD include replacement of the butt stock, pistol grip, trigger and the mounting for the sight; and shortening the barrel by achieved perfect balance for the weapon. Around 1991, the Russians developed a slight variant of the OTs-03, the OTs-03A (SVU-A). Whereas the SVU is semi-automatic, the SVU-A (the A stands for automatic) is a

fully automatic An automatic firearm or fully automatic firearm (to avoid confusion with semi-automatic firearms) is a self-loading firearm that continuously chambers and fires rounds when the trigger mechanism is actuated. The action of an automatic firear ...

. In this rifle, the center of gravity was moved forward by the addition of a forward extended bipod mounted on the receiver. Developing 20 and 30 round box magazines increased the capacity of the magazine so that it could be used effectively in full automatic mode; and better optics were incorporated into the SVU-A to replace the previous units, which had been left almost untouched since the SVD. Though it has folding

iron sights Iron sights are a system of physical alignment markers used as a sighting device to assist the accurate aiming of ranged weapons such as firearms, airguns, crossbows, and bows, or less commonly as a primitive finder sight for optical telescop ...

, the SVU is almost always used with the

PSO-1 file:Tigr pso 1 med.jpg, Russian PSO-1M2 current military issue 4×24 telescopic sight file:Pso-1onsvd.jpg, View through a PSO-1 telescopic sight mounted on an SVD rifle The PSO-1 (''Прицел снайперский оптический, Pritse ...

scope with illuminated reticle, but other Russian scopes can also be mounted. The PSO-1 reticle is somewhat unique in the world of sniper scopes, in that its rangefinders are in the lower left, chevrons for bullet drop compensation are found in the middle, and stadia marks for windage to the left and right of the center reticule. The reticle is also illuminated by radioactive

tritium Tritium () or hydrogen-3 (symbol T or H) is a rare and radioactive isotope of hydrogen with a half-life of ~12.33 years. The tritium nucleus (t, sometimes called a ''triton'') contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus of the ...

instead of a small battery-powered lamp. The SVU also comes with an adjustable bipod. It has an integral flash hider and

muzzle brake A muzzle brake or recoil compensator is a device connected to, or a feature integral (ported barrel) to the construction of, the muzzle or barrel of a firearm or cannon that is intended to redirect a portion of propellant gases to counter re ...

. A bayonet may be fitted under the forestock.

Variants

The OTs-03A (SVU-A) (Russian: Снайперская винтовка укороченная, автоматическая, ''Snayperskaya Vintovka Ukorochennaya—Avtomaticheskaya'', Short Sniper Rifle—Automatic) is a selective-fire version of the SVU, capable of semi-automatic or fully automatic fire.

Users

*: Used by the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs.СВУ (ОЦ-03) // А. И. Благовестов. То, из чего стреляют в СНГ / ред. А. Е. Тарас. Минск, «Харвест», М., ООО «Издательство АСТ», 2000. стр.388-390 *: Some imported prior to the ousting of the Saleh government.

References

External links

Modern Firearms

WeaponPlace.ru
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{{Bullpup firearms 7.62×54mmR battle rifles 7.62×54mmR semi-automatic rifles Bullpup rifles KBP Instrument Design Bureau products Short stroke piston firearms Sniper rifles of Russia Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1994 Designated marksman rifles

Variants

Users

See also

References

External links