SVU
Summary
| Country | 🇷🇺 Russia |
| Category | Sniper rifle |
| Manufacturer | Dragunov |
Technical specifications
| SVU | |
|---|---|
| Fire Rate | 30 rounds/min. |
| Caliber | 7.62 x 54 mm |
| Magazine | 10 rounds |
| Length | 870 mm (34.3 in) |
| Weight | 3.6 kg (7.9 lb) |
| Range | 600 m (1969 ft) |
Description
The OTs-03 SVU was developed to meet the needs of security forces within the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, such as OMON units, and first saw operational use during the First Chechen War. Initially intended as a modernization of the SVD rifle, designers opted for a complete redesign, resulting in the SVU.
The SVU is a bullpup designated marksman rifle engineered with features to enhance performance and ergonomics. These features include:
- A special muzzle brake designed to absorb up to 40% of recoil energy.
* An elastic buttstock with a lamellar spring non-rigidly attached to the receiver.
* A sound suppressor to improve acoustic properties.
Compared to the SVD, improvements include the buttstock, pistol grip, trigger, and sight mounting. Shortening the barrel by 100 mm optimized balance. While it has folding iron sights, the rifle is typically used with optics, often the PSO-1 scope with an illuminated reticle, although other Russian scopes can be mounted. The PSO-1 reticle includes rangefinders, chevrons for bullet drop compensation, and stadia marks for windage. The reticle is illuminated using radioactive tritium. The rifle is equipped with an adjustable bipod, an integral flash hider, and a muzzle brake, along with a bayonet attachment point under the forestock.
Around 1991, a variant designated OTs-03A or SVU-A was developed. This selective-fire version can operate in both semi-automatic and fully automatic modes. The center of gravity was shifted forward by incorporating a forward extended bipod mounted directly on the receiver. To support effective full automatic fire, magazine capacity was increased through the development of 20 and 30 round box magazines. Improved optics were incorporated, replacing the earlier units which were largely retained from the SVD design.
The rifle's operational history includes documented use in the First Chechen War.
Users of the SVU include Russia, specifically elements of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, and Yemen, which imported a quantity of these rifles prior to the change in government.