VSS Vintorez

Lore & Background

The VSS Vintorez was based on the RG-036 prototype that was designed in 1981 by TsNIITochMash. Further development of the VSS Vintorez was carried out in parallel with the AS Val, to provide a suppressed sniper rifle for Spetsnaz undercover or clandestine units and capable of defeating NATO body armour at ranges up to 400 m (440 yd) with as little noise as possible. The AS Val can trace its origins back to the 1960 U-2 incident, where the Soviets captured a US Air Force pilot alongside his equipment, including a suppressed pistol, which impressed them enough to issue a requirement for a similar Soviet weapon.

With increasing tensions between the West and the Soviet Union during the late 1970s and 1980s, the KGB and GRU ordered the development of small arms suitable for covert operations and in 1981, weapon designers P. I. Serdyukov and V. F. Krasnikov of TsNIITochMash began working on a combination of a new suppressed rifle and subsonic cartridge.

Reader's Guide

The VSS Vintorez uses a modified Kalashnikov action, a gas-operated rotating bolt combined with an integral suppressor and chambered for the 9×39mm subsonic cartridge. The barrel is optimised for accurate sniper fire paired with the SP-5 (7N8) cartridge firing a heavy 250 grain FMJ bullet at subsonic speed. It features a selective fire mechanism and uses detachable box magazines; it is normally used in semi-automatic mode with 10-round magazines, while fully automatic mode is used for emergency situations, ambushes or attacks against soft-skinned vehicles.

It is also compatible with 20-round AS Val magazines and 30-round SR-3M magazines. The safety selector is similar to Kalashnikov rifles, but the fire selector is located behind the trigger. The integral suppressor uses a dual-chamber principle: propellant gases are vented through perforations along the barrel into the first chamber, then pass through a second chamber via mesh screens, significantly lowering the sound signature. The VSS Vintorez can be broken down for transport in a special aluminium briefcase for clandestine operations, which includes a PSO-1-1 (1P43) telescopic sight, a NPSU-3 night sight with 3.46× magnification, and two magazines.

It can also mount the PSO-1 telescopic sight of the SVD rifle, or the 1PN52-1 night sight, and features built-in iron sights integrated with the suppressor.

Did You Know?

• The VSS Vintorez and AS Val were developed by TsNIITochMash to replace modified general-purpose firearms such as the AKS-74UB, BS-1, APB, and PB for clandestine operations.
• Both rifles were used during the First Chechen War in 1994 and the Second Chechen War in 1999.
• The VSS Vintorez was used in small numbers by the Security Service of Ukraine's Alpha Group protecting the Ukrainian embassy in Iraq in the 2000s.
• The VSSM (6P29M) is a modernised variant with a redesigned dust cover with Picatinny rail, adjustable aluminium buttstock, and 30‑round magazine; deliveries began in 2018.