AS Val and VSS Vintorez

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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) Sniper rifle (VSS Vintorez)
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1987−Present[1]
Used by	See users
Wars	First Chechen War Second Chechen War Iraq War[2] Russo-Georgian War Russo-Ukrainian War
Production history
Designer	Pyotr Serdyukov and Vladimir Krasnikov
Designed	1981
Manufacturer	Tula Arms Plant
Produced	1987−Present
Variants	ASM and VSSM
Specifications
Mass	2.5 kg (5.5 lb) (AS Val, unloaded) 5.7 kg (13 lb) (AS Val, with NSP-3 night sight) 2.6 kg (5.7 lb) (VSS Vintorez, unloaded) 3.4 kg (7.5 lb) (VSS Vintorez, with PSO-1-1 telescopic sight)
Length	650 mm (26 in) (AS Val, stock folded) 875 mm (34.4 in) (AS Val, stock extended) 894 mm (35.2 in) (VSS Vintorez)
Barrel length	200 mm (7.9 in)[3]
Cartridge	9×39mm
Action	Gas-operated long-stroke, rotating bolt
Rate of fire	800−900 rounds per minute (cyclic) 30 rounds per minute (effective, semi-automatic) 60 rounds per minute (effective, automatic)
Muzzle velocity	280–290 m/s (920–950 ft/s)
Effective firing range	400 m (440 yd) (day) 300 m (330 yd) (night)
Feed system	20-round detachable box magazine (interchangeable with VSS Vintorez 10-round magazine)
Sights	Iron sights, telescopic sight, night sight
References	[4]

The AS Val "Shaft" (Russian: АС «Вал»; Автома́т Специа́льный, romanized: Avtomát Spetsiálny "Val", lit. 'Special Automatic')^[5] and VSS Vintorez "Thread Cutter" (Russian: ВСС «Винторе́з» Винто́вка Сна́йперская Специа́льная, romanized: Vintóvka Snáyperskaya Spetsiálnaya "Vintorez", lit. 'Special "Sniper" Rifle'),^[6] 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.^[7] 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.^[8]