AS Val

The AS Val (Avtomat Special'nyj Val, Russian: Автомат Специальный Вал or Special Automatic Rifle, code name: "Shaft", GRAU designation 6P30) is a Soviet-designed rifle featuring an integrated suppressor. 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.

AS Val
The AS VAL (Special Automatic Rifle)
TypeAssault rifle
Place of originSoviet Union
Service history
In service1987–present
Used byRussian Federation
WarsFirst Chechen War and Second Chechen War, 2008 South Ossetia war, War in Donbass, Insurgency in the North Caucasus, Syrian Civil war (used by Russian special forces)
Production history
DesignerTsNIITochMash Pyotr Serdyukov
Designed1987
ManufacturerTula Arms Plant
Unit costUnknown (estimated to be around 110,822 roubles, in USD $1788)
Produced1987
No. builtUnknown, estimated to be relatively low due to its production costs.
VariantsASM Val
Specifications
Mass2.5 kg (5.51 lb) empty
Length875 mm (34.4 in) stock extended / 615 mm (24.2 in) stock folded
Barrel length200 mm (7.9 in)
Cartridge9×39mm SP5 and SP6 also PAB-9, SPP, BP later variants made in 2004.
ActionGas-operated, rotating bolt
Rate of fire900 RPM
Muzzle velocity295 m/s (968 ft/s)
Effective firing range400 m
Maximum firing range500 m
Feed system20-round detachable box magazine
(optional 10-round magazine from the VSS or 30-round magazine from the SR-3M)
SightsFront post, rear sector sight; day or night-time optics

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.

The AS Val and VSS proved to be very effective and remain in service with elements of the Russian army and special forces and Moscow’s intelligence and security forces. The suppressed rifles saw action during the last years of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and played prominent roles in the Chechen wars and the conflict in Georgia.

Most recently, they have seen action during Russia’s interventions in Crimea and Syria.

Design
An instruction sheet of the AS Val that includes a field strip model of the rifle.
A right-side of the AS Val (bottom) and VSS Vintorez (top).

The AS Val has an effective range of approximately 300 m, as it uses heavy subsonic 9×39mm SP-6 (high-performance armor-piercing) ammunition, as well as the SP-5 ball cartridge used by the VSS Vintorez suppressed sniper rifle. It can also use the same 10- or 20-round magazines of the VSS Vintorez and the 30-round magazine of the SR-3M. Controls are similar to all AK-type rifles with charging handle on the right side, tangent rear sight, magazine release button behind the magazine well, and safety lever above the trigger guard. The fire selector is, however, located within the trigger guard, behind the trigger.

The rifle has two modes of fire, semi-automatic and fully automatic fire, and has a cyclic rate of fire of 900 rounds per minute (RPM). According to its users, the AS Val is reliable, accurate, and well liked.

The rifle has an AK-type side mount for various optical sights, including the 4x PSO-1 scope and night sights such as the 1PN51[1] calibrated for use with the 9×39mm cartridge. The standard open sights are graduated up to 400 m in 25 m increments.

The AS Val shares 70% of its components with its sister-gun, the VSS Vintorez. The differences are a skeletonized steel stock which folds to the left for storage and transportation (gun can operate with stock folded but it cannot be fitted with a scope while the stock is folded).

The reliability of the rifle is said to be equivalent to the AKM, including functioning in difficult conditions such as dust, dirt, sand, rain, at a temperature range from -50 °C to +50 °C.

Variants
A right-side view of the ASM Val.

ASM Val - The ASM Val is a modernised variant of the AS Val, GRAU designation 6P30M. It features a 30-round magazine and a rail system on the dust cover and handguard. Deliveries started in 2018.[2]

Derivatives

SR-3 - The SR-3 Vikhr is a compact assault rifle based on the AS Val, chambered for the same cartridge and features a new stock but lacks the integral suppressor.

VSS Vintorez - The VSS Vintorez is a special sniper rifle around which the AS Val was based, chambered for the same cartridge and still features an integral suppressor.

Users

See also

References
  1. ИЗДЕЛИЕ 1ПН51 ТЕХНИЧЕСКОЕ ОПИСАНИЕ И ИНСТРУКЦИЯ ПО ЭКСПЛУАТАЦИИ [Product 1PN51 technical description and operating instructions] (zip) (in Russian). January 1992. p. 11. АЛ3.812.076 ТО-ЛУ.
  2. http://www.armstrade.org/includes/periodics/news/2018/1001/122548950/detail.shtml
  3. https://web.archive.org/web/20120309192408/http://geo-army.ge/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9&Itemid=9&lang=en
  4. /https://www.militaryfactory.com/smallarms/detail.asp?smallarms_id=580
  5. /https://www.facebook.com/mod.gov.ge/photos/a.116763301689754/2877623182270405/?type=3&theater
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