Rosoboronexport of Rostec State Corporation has completed the delivery of 4.5 mm SPP-1M underwater pistols and 5.66 mm APS underwater assault rifles to the foreign partner. The weapons were developed by TSNIITOCHMASH of the Rostec State Corporation for arming special forces and combat divers. Batch of ammunition was supplied to the customer together with the weapons. The weapons fire steel darts with a caliber of 4.5 mm and a length of 120 mm. The ammunition has a pointed conical head, with a special blunted tip. This design creates a cavity of air in front of the bullet when it moves udnerwater at high speeds, reducing water resistance and stabilizing the cartridge.
“Water, in comparison with air, has a higher density, so it is impossible to use traditional firearms in an aquatic environment. This is why divisions of combat swimmers and scuba divers are armed with specialized small arms. Due to their characteristics and reliability, underwater weapons, like many other Rostec products, are in strong demand abroad, such as the countries of the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region,” said a speaker from the Rostec Armaments cluster.
The SPP-1M pistol is capable of hitting underwater targets at a range of up to 17 meters when also fired underwater or up to 20 meters when fired above surface. he SPP-1 has four barrels, each containing one cartridge. Its ammunition comes as a magazine of four cartridges which is inserted into the pistol’s breech. Its barrel is not rifled; the fired projectile is kept in line by hydrodynamic effects. As a result, it is somewhat inaccurate when fired out of water. A double-action firing mechanism fires one cartridge sequentially for each pull of the trigger. When all four cartridges are spent, the gun can be reloaded above or below water.
The APS underwater assault rifle is an underwater firearm designed by the Soviet Union in the early 1970s. The APS stands for Avtomat Podvodny Spetsialnyy or “Special Underwater Assault Rifle”. Made by the Tula Arms Plant in Russia, it is exported by Rosoboronexport. In turn, the specialized underwater 5.66-mm APS assault rifle hits targets at a range of up to 30 meters under the surface, as well as at a range of up to 100 m when firing in the air. The APS fires a 120 mm (4.75 in) long 5.66 mm calibre steel bolt specially designed for this weapon. The APS’s barrel is not rifled; the fired projectile is kept in line by hydrodynamic effects; as a result, the APS is somewhat inaccurate when fired out of water.
