VSS Vintorez

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Lore & Background

The VSS Vintorez was based on the RG-036 prototype designed in 1981 by TsNIITochMash. Further development was carried out in parallel with the AS Val, to provide a suppressed sniper rifle for Spetsnaz undercover or clandestine units, 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 (Gary Powers) alongside his equipment, including a suppressed pistol, which impressed them enough to issue a requirement for a similar Soviet weapon. The captured pistol was examined by the TsNIITochMash at Klimovsk by a team of designers that included G. Petropavlov, Yu Krulov, V. Sabelinikov, A. Neougodev, A. Deryagin, A. Khinikadze, I. Kas'yanov, P. Serdyukov, V. Petrov, and V. Levchenko. They pioneered the development of suppressed weapons and specialized ammunition in Russia. 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 around the world 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.

In Their Own Story

The VSS Vintorez and AS Val were both issued to Soviet troops since the late 1980s. Both rifles were used during the First Chechen War in 1994 and the Second Chechen War in 1999, though they remained relatively obscure amongst Western intelligence agencies until the Russians deployed troops to South Ossetia during the Russo-Georgian War in 2008. During the conflict, both Russian and Georgian forces used the VSS Vintorez. Both the VSS Vintorez and AS Val were also seen in use by Russian Spetsnaz during the Russo-Ukrainian War. The VSS Vintorez was used in small numbers by the Security Service of Ukraine's Alpha Group, which was protecting the Ukrainian embassy in Iraq in the 2000s. By 2014, it was no longer in use by any security forces in Ukraine. According to Militarnyi, the VSS Vintorez was retired from service due to the lack of ammo. However, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, significant numbers of VSS Vintorez and AS Val were captured from Russian forces.

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. The VSS Vintorez features a selective fire mechanism and uses the same detachable box magazine design as the AS Val. The VSS Vintorez is normally used in semi-automatic mode with 10-round magazines, whilst fully automatic mode is used for emergency situations, ambushes or attacks against soft-skinned vehicles such as trucks. Both rifles are also compatible with the 30-round SR-3M magazines. The magazines have a series of horizontal indentations to provide tactile identification and prevent confusion with Kalashnikov-pattern magazines. The safety selector is similar to Kalashnikov rifles, but the fire selector that switches the firing mode is located behind the trigger. The VSS Vintorez can be broken down for transport in a special aluminium briefcase for clandestine operations. A PSO-1-1 (1P43) telescopic sight, a NPSU-3 night sight with a 3.46× magnification, and two magazines are included in the briefcase. The VSS Vintorez can also mount the PSO-1 telescopic sight of the SVD rifle, or the 1PN52-1 night sight. Both rifles also feature built-in iron sights integrated with the suppressor. The integral suppressor makes use of the dual-chamber principle: propellant gases are vented through perforations along the barrel into the first chamber, where the hot gases cool down and lose pressure before passing through the second chamber via a series of mesh screens which break the gas stream even further before leaving the barrel. The resulting sound signature is significantly lower than an unsuppressed rifle, and even from a short distance it cannot be recognised as the discharge of a rifle.

Did You Know?

• The VSS Vintorez's GRAU designation is 6P29, while the AS Val is 6P30.
• Initial development of the VSS Vintorez began in 1983, followed shortly by the AS Val.
• The VSS Vintorez was adopted by the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union in 1987.
• The VSS Vintorez is capable of defeating NATO body armour at ranges up to 400 m (440 yd).
• The VSS Vintorez and AS Val were developed by TsNIITochMash to replace the AKS-74UB, BS-1, APB, and PB for clandestine operations.