The OTs-03 SVU (russian: Снайперская винтовка укороченная, , 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 infantrymen in the designated marksman (DM) role. It generally fills the engagement effective range, range gap between ...

. 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; russian: Министерство внутренних дел (МВД), ''Ministerstvo vnutrennikh del'') is the interior ministry of Russia. The MVD is responsible for law enfor ...

, such as

OMON OMON (russian: ОМОН – Отряд Мобильный Особого Назначения , translit = Otryad Mobil'nyy Osobogo Naznacheniya , translation = Special Purpose Mobile Unit, , previously ru , Отряд Милиции Осо� ...

. The SVU was first seen in use in the

First Chechen War The First Chechen War, also known as the First Chechen Campaign,, rmed conflict in the Chechen Republic and on bordering territories of the Russian FederationФедеральный закон № 5-ФЗ от 12 января 1995 (в реда� ...

. Originally, the plan was to just slightly modernize the aging

SVD ''Svenska Dagbladet'' (, "The Swedish Daily News"), abbreviated SvD, is a daily newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden. History and profile The first issue of ''Svenska Dagbladet'' appeared on 18 December 1884. During the beginning of the ...

, 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 100 mm 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 rifle. 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 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 (usually made of metallic material) used as a sighting device to assist the accurate aiming of ranged weapons (such as a firearm, airgun, crossbow or even compound bow), or less commonly ...

, the SVU is almost always used with the

PSO-1 Russian PSO-1M2 current military issue 4×24 telescopic sight View through a PSO-1 telescopic sight mounted on an SVD rifle The PSO-1 (''Прицел Снайперский Оптический, Pritsel Snaipersky Optichesky'', "Optical Sniper ...

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 , ) or hydrogen-3 (symbol T or H) is a rare and radioactive isotope of hydrogen with half-life about 12 years. The nucleus of tritium (t, sometimes called a ''triton'') contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus o ...

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 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 recoil and unwanted ...

. 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—Semi Automatic) is a

selective-fire Selective fire is the capability of a weapon to be adjusted to fire in semi-automatic, fully automatic, and/or burst mode. The modes are chosen by means of a selector switch, which varies depending on the weapon's design. Some selective-fire we ...

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
��in Russian

{{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

Variants

Users

See also

References

External links