The KSVK 12.7 (russian: Крупнокалиберная Снайперская Винтовка Ковровская (''Krupnokalibernaya Snayperskaya Vintovka Kovrovskaya''); en, Large-Caliber Kovrov Sniper Rifle) or Degtyarev sniper rifle is a 12.7mm

anti-materiel rifle An anti-materiel rifle (AMR) is a rifle designed for use against military equipment, structures, and other hardware (materiel). Anti-materiel rifles are chambered in significantly larger calibers than conventional rifles and are employed to elimin ...

developed in Russia for the purpose of counter sniping and penetrating thick walls, as well as light armored vehicles.

Development

The KSVK anti-material (or large caliber sniper) rifle was developed in the late 1990s by

Degtyarev plant Degtyaryov Plant (russian: ОАО Завод имени В. А. Дегтярёва, ОАО Zavod imeni V. А. Dеgtyaryovа, English: Open Joint Stock Company " V. A. Degtyaryov Plant") or ZiD (Zavod imeni Dеgtyaryovа) is one of the most importa ...

, based in

Kovrov Kovrov (russian: Ковро́в) is a city in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Klyazma River, a tributary of the Oka. Kovrov's population as of the 2021 Census was 132,417, down from 145,214 recorded in the 2010 Census, ...

, Russia. It is based on the SVN-98 12.7mm experimental rifle.

Design

The KSVK 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, ...

-configured,

bolt-action Bolt-action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt via a bolt handle, which is most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon (as most users are right-handed). Most bolt-action ...

, magazine-fed rifle. It is equipped with a muzzle device which acts as a

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 ...

and a sound damper. The KSVK is equipped with standard Russian side-mounted scope rail (dovetail), and can be fitted with variety of day and

night scope A night-vision device (NVD), also known as a night optical/observation device (NOD), night-vision goggle (NVG), is an Optoelectronics, optoelectronic device that allows visualization of images in low levels of light, improving the user's night ...

s. Open

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 ...

are installed for backup or emergency purposes. ASVK Kord-M 6V7M - 4thTankDivisionOpenDay17p2-28

Variants

* SVN-98 (''СВН-98'')Семен Федосеев. Оружие спецназа: крупнокалиберная снайперская винтовка // журнал «Братишка», октябрь 2000 г. * KSVK (''КСВК'') * ASVK (''АСВК'', army Kovrov large-caliber sniper rifle) – adopted by

Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation (russian: Министерство обороны Российской Федерации, Минобороны России, informally abbreviated as МО, МО РФ or Minoboron) is the govern ...

under designation ''6S8 "KORD"'' sniper complex (''6С8 «Корд»'') in June 2013 and used by the

Syrian Arab Army The Syrian Army, officially the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) ( ar, الْجَيْشُ الْعَرَبيُّ السُّورِيُّ, al-Jayš al-ʿArabī as-Sūrī), is the army, land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. It is the dominant military ...

during the Syrian Civil War. * SBT12M1, a Vietnamese design based on the Russian KSVK with several modifications to fit the local conditions. It is equipped with the also Vietnamese produced N12 optical sight with 10x magnification. Manufactured at Z111 and Z199 factories. * ASVK-M Kord-M: Upgraded version

Conflicts

The KSVK 12.7 has been in the following conflicts: *

Second Chechen War The Second Chechen War (russian: Втора́я чече́нская война́, ) took place in Chechnya and the border regions of the North Caucasus between the Russia, Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, from Augus ...

* Syrian Civil War *

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

Users

*: ASVK is currently used by units of the Southern, Eastern and Western Military Districts and Northern Fleet. Improved version ASVK-M Kord-M entered service in June 2018. ** Russian separatist forces in eastern Ukraine *: Used by forces loyal to the Syrian Government. *: ASVK-M Kord-M, captured from Russian forces during

. *: SBT12M1, a domestically produced version, featuring modifications to suit local conditions made by

Z111 Factory ) , romanized_name = , former_name = , type = State-owned enterprise , traded_as = , ISIN = , industry = Arms industry , genre = , fate = , predecessor = , successor = , founded = 1957 , founder = , defunct = , hq_location = ...

References

External links

*
6S8 at the manufacturer's website
* {{Bullpup firearms 12.7×108 mm sniper rifles 12.7×108 mm anti-materiel rifles Bolt-action rifles of Russia Bullpup rifles Sniper rifles of Russia Degtyarev Plant products Military equipment introduced in the 1990s