{"id":34339,"date":"2018-06-04T16:47:15","date_gmt":"2018-06-04T16:47:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/06\/04\/russian-defense-company-to-debut-noiseless-sniper-rifle\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T02:55:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T02:55:42","slug":"russian-defense-company-to-debut-noiseless-sniper-rifle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/off-duty\/gearscout\/2018\/06\/04\/russian-defense-company-to-debut-noiseless-sniper-rifle\/","title":{"rendered":"Russian defense company to debut \u201cnoiseless sniper rifle\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Just as the U.S. military is undertaking the procurement process for new ground troop weapons, so too is Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And while U.S. Marine snipers<\/a> are expected to wield the Mk 13 Mod 7 rifle<\/a> downrange, Russian military snipers are also anticipating upgrades to their own weapon systems.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Russian Defense Ministry<\/a>\u2019s OSV-96, a 12.7 mm sniper rifle, is due for upgrades to its cartridge and design, a representative for the company that manufactures the rifle told TASS<\/a>, a Kremlin-owned news agency, last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The OSV-96 is used by Russia\u2019s Defense Ministry, Interior Ministry and Federal Security Service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The manufacturer \u2014 KBP Instrument Design Bureau \u2014 said the OSV-96 is simply less accurate than other, newer guns they have developed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The MTs-116R, a 12.7 mm sniper rifle designed by Russian-based Shipunov Instrument-Making Design Bureau, is pictured at a defense industry event in 2013. (Vitaly V. Kuzmin\/Wikimedia Commons)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWork is underway to upgrade the OSV-96 to increase the accuracy of fire and the density of hits,\u201d the design bureau\u2019s representative told TASS. \u201cNow we are at the stage of R&D work, which will be followed by experimental and design work and a cycle of trials. We expect the rifle\u2019s upgrade to be completed in 2020.\u201d
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that\u2019s not the only new sniper rifle on Russia\u2019s horizon. That same company is also developing a \u201cquiet sniper rifle\u201d derived from the MTs-116M, which will be showcased for the first time at an arms exhibition near Moscow in late August, according to TASS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The upgrades have apparently retained the MTs-116M\u2019s notable buttstock \u2014 which has caused it to be easily spotted in pictures off the Syrian battlefield. However, the rifle will use different barrels and cartridges.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company was scant on details regarding how quiet the rifle will end up being, but did say they\u2019re relying on subsonic ammunition, which are rounds that operate below the speed of sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\t