Global InformationAS Val and VSS Vintorez information
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| AS Val and VSS Vintorez | |
|---|---|
 VSS (top) equipped with the PSO-1-1 and 10-round magazine. VAL (bottom) with a 20-round magazine | |
| Type | Assault rifle (AS Val)[1] Sniper rifle (VSS Vintorez)[2] |
| Place of origin | Soviet Union |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1987–present |
| Used by | See Users |
| Wars | Iraq War[3] Russo-Georgian War 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine |
| Production history | |
| Designer | TsNIITochMash Pyotr Serdyukov and Vladimir Krasnikov |
| Designed | 1980s |
| Manufacturer | Tula Arms Plant |
| Produced | 1987–present |
| Variants | ASM and VSSM |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 2.5 kg (5.51 lb) AS (empty) 3.54 kg (7.80 lb) AS with PSO-1-1 4.95 kg (10.91 lb) AS with 1PN51 2.6 kg (5.73 lb) VSS (empty) |
| Length | 875 mm (34.4 in) AS (stock extended) 615 mm (24.2 in) AS (stock folded) 894 mm (35.2 in) VSS |
| Barrel length | 200 mm (7.9 in) |
| Cartridge | 9×39mm |
| Action | Gas-operated, closed rotating bolt |
| Rate of fire | 800–900 rounds/min |
| Muzzle velocity | 280–295 m/s |
| Feed system | 10-, 20-, 30-round detachable box magazine (shared with the SR-3M) |
| Sights | Open sights: Rear notch on tangent (graduated from 100 to 425 m) and front post mounted to suppressor housing "Dovetail mount" for optics |
The AS Val "Shaft" (Russian: АС «Вал»; Автома́т Специа́льный, romanized: Avtomát Spetsiálny "Val", lit. 'Special Automatic')[4] and VSS Vintorez "Thread Cutter" (Russian: ВСС «Винторе́з» Винто́вка Сна́йперская Специа́льная, romanized: Vintóvka Snáyperskaya Spetsiálnaya "Vintorez", lit. 'Special "Sniper" Rifle'),[5] 6P30 and 6P29 (GRAU designation) respectively, were a Soviet-designed assault rifle featuring an integral suppressor based on the prototype RG-036 completed in 1981 by TsNIITochMash.[6] The two rifles hereafter are referred to as the Vintorez and Val. The Vintorez (beginning in 1983) and Val (beginning in 1985) were developed by TsNIITochMash to replace modified general-purpose firearms, such as the AKS-74UB, BS-1, APB, and PB, for clandestine operations, much like the PSS Vul. Manufacturing began at the Tula Arms Plant after its adoption by the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union in 1987.
The ASM (6P30M) and VSSM (6P29M) are modernized variants of the AS and VSS respectively The VSSM is equipped with an aluminium buttstock with an adjustable cheek and butt pad and a new 30-round magazine was introduced to be intended for use with the ASM. Both rifles are also outfitted with a Picatinny rail on the top of the dust cover and on the sides and bottom of the suppressor, forward of the handguard. The mounts which shroud the suppressor can be removed. Deliveries began in 2018.[7]
- ^ "9 mm special assault rifle AS | Catalog Rosoboronexport". roe.ru. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
- ^ "9 mm special sniper rifle VSS | Catalog Rosoboronexport". roe.ru. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
- ^ Besedovskyy, Vlad (2 May 2023). "VSS Vintorez used by Ukrainian special forces in Iraq". Safar Publishing. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
- ^ "9 mm special assault rifle AS | Catalog Rosoboronexport". roe.ru. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
- ^ "9 mm special sniper rifle VSS | Catalog Rosoboronexport". roe.ru. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
- ^ AS Val, VSS Vintorez, OTs-14 Groza, and more: 9x39mm with Max Popenker, retrieved 7 May 2023
- ^ "Modernized ASM and VSSM". YouTube. Retrieved 7 May 2023.