Russian special forces to get new ASM silent assault rifles

The first batch of the latest ASM assault rifles will be delivered to the 24th brigade deployed in Novosibirsk. ASM is an upgraded Val rifle. It is nearly silent from a distance of several meters and the bullet will pierce any armored vest. Experts believe the rifles are irreplaceable in commando operations.

Modernized assault rifle ASM Val 6P30M with a classic magazine, not a transparent one (Picture source: Vitaly Kuzmin)

Full tests of the rifle will be held in the 24th brigade before the weapon is supplied to the armed forces, sources in the Defense Ministry said. The Central Military District earlier said upgraded ASM option of the silent Val would be supplied to reconnaissance units. It has a different form of the receiver and better operational characteristics. The remaining round of bullets can be seen through a transparent plastic magazine.

Development of a special rifle (AS) "Shaft" began in the first half of the 1980s in the Central Research Institute of Precision Engineering (TSNIITOCHMASH), in the city of Klimovsk, Moscow region. The lead designer of the rifle is Pyotr Serdyukov. It was developed in 1987 by TsNIITochMash (Central Institute for Precision Machine Building). Since 1987, it was added to the arsenal of the Soviet Army and the KGB and is used by Russian Spetsnaz special forces and the MVD, FSB, OMON, SOBR, GRU, and select units of the Russian Army. Due to the rifle being both expensive and in limited quantity, it is very rarely deployed according to some Russian Spetsnaz operators. It is deployed in special operations that are either sabotage or reconnaissance units behind enemy lines and is a favorite of Spetsnaz operators.

Little is known about the ASM rifle. It has a bigger barrel resource, a new magazine for 30 cartridges, as well as Picatinny rails for sights and other devices. The Russian army uses night and day optical and red dot sights. They ensure aiming 2-3 times faster than traditional sights. ASM uses transparent plastic magazines for the shooter to visually control the remaining cartridges. The rifle has new bipods for precision fire from stationary positions.