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New sniper rifle from TsNIITOCHMASH will be delivered to the Russian secret services TASS 10911164

Military Defense Industry Technology - TsNIITOCHMASH sniper rifle

New sniper rifle from TsNIITOCHMASH will be delivered to the Russian secret services.

The sophisticated sniper system developed for Russian secret services has passed the official tests and been ready for full-rate production, TsNIITOCHMASH Director General Dmitry Semizorov said, showing the cutting-edge rifle to Russian Vice-Premier Dmitry Rogozin.

The new TsNIITOCHMASH sniper rifle for Russian secret services is based on the T-5000 rifle.

"The rifles have passed the official trials," he said. "The interdepartmental commission has done its job and cleared them for production." According to the vice-premier, the new sniper system’s launch customer is Russia’s Federal Guard Service.

"The first order has been placed. The batch will be small. It is designed for operational evaluation by the Federal Guard Service, and large-scale deliveries are being pondered as well," he said.

The TsNIITOCHMASH director general added that the government would clear the weapon for the service entry with the Federal Guard Service inside a month. The first batch is already being manufactured.

"It will include two 7.62-mm and two 8.6-mm systems," he added. "There will have been a large order by late 2017."

Semizorov added that the delivery would be executed "in a very interested manner". Five companies have been involved in the program, but the delivery will take place "through a single window".

"TsNIITOCHMASH assumes the responsibility for the operation of the whole system; hence, a governmental customer will turn to TsNIITOCHMASH alone in case of maintenance or scheduled repair issues, rather than having to deal with all of the companies involved," Semizorov explained, adding that he meant a full life-cycle contract.

During the weapon’s presentation, Rogozin was told that Russia’s sniper system of the kind was its first one and on a par with foreign analogs in terms of accuracy and range. It was in development concurrently with its advanced night and day scopes and laser target designators. The system’s feature is that it was being developed at the same time with its ammunition.

Both rifles making up the system are chambered for two cartridges, one being an ordinary ball round and the other an armor-piercing one. The 7.62x51-mm and 8.6x69-mm rounds are superior to foreign analogs by 25-30%. The ammunition plants in Tula and Ulyanovsk manufacture them. The sniper system is afforded an optical scope and a laser range-finder effective at a range of 2 km.

Semizorov emphasized that the rifles were made of Russian materials only, save for the electronic components used in the thermal-imaging sights. The sniper system has been derived from the T-5000 rifle.