Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Kalashnikov Concern’s shooting range and tested the company’s brand new sniper rifle in Kubinka on Wednesday. After inspecting the experimental samples of the rifles, Putin shot five times with an SVCh-308 (Chukavin sniper’s rifle) rifle at a target from a distance of 600 meters. Three of the president’s shots successfully hit the target. During his visit, Putin was also took a look at other Kalashnikov projects, including the ‘Stena’ crowd control vehicle, the Astes armored vehicle, electric vehicles, snowmobiles, buggies, drones, and watercraft.
According to Kalashnikov, the SVCh-308 rifle is designed to engage the enemy’s manpower at small and medium distances. It can be used in conditions of combined arms combat as well as for keeping a cover. The rifle’s small dimensions allow the shooter to do without additional weapons, which increases mobility. Kalashnikov has high hopes for the new compact rifle, also known as the Chukavin’s sniper rifle, seeing it a potential successor to the legendary Dragunov sniper rifle design. The company has plans to produce the SVCh-308 in two calibers, the Russian standard 7.62×54 and the NATO standard 7.62×51 (.308 Winchester) cartridges, the latter intended for the foreign market.
