Russian Naval Spetsnaz

Navy Spetsnaz testing kit:



The old pistol



The new pistol (GSh-18 in 9x19mm) that can be fired underwater



The new ADS underwater



The new ADS above water.

That reminds me... the photo above shows a range of special new ammo the Russians are using or testing.

The bullets relevant to this thread are on the right hand column and are the bottom three cartridges...

From top to bottom they are a 4.5 x 19mm round and two 5.45 x 39mm rounds.

All three are based on standard rounds (9x19mm NATO, and two 5.45 x 39mm rounds).

They all use sabot designs with small calibre very long projectiles and are all designed to be fired from conventional weapons underwater.

The long narrow design of the projectiles greatly increases their effective range underwater.

This means instead of carrying different weapons for above and below the water you can carry magazines filled with above or under water ammo and simply change mags as you change medium.

Pretty nasty projectiles I would say!

Very customised for specific purposes.

As they say... guns don't kill people... bullets do.

New French Rebreathers for Russian Navy Divers

SEVASTOPOL, April 2 (RIA Novosti)



The Russian Black Sea Fleet is considering replacing Soviet-made underwater breathing equipment used by its combat divers with new French-produced Amphora closed circuit rebreathers, a Defense Ministry spokesman said on Monday.

The respirators are currently being tested, the spokesman said. If the tests are successful, they would replace IDA-71 individual breathing apparatuses that have been used by Soviet and Russian navy divers since 1971.

The French rebreathers are lighter and smaller than their Soviet analogues and are equipped with an advanced breathing mixture supply system, the Defense Ministry spokesman said.

Unlike IDAs, which are attached to the diver’s back, the Amphora apparatus’s main unit is fastened to the chest, he said. As a result, Russian navy divers will have to undergo additional training to be able to implement their combat tasks with the new rebreathers, he added.
The Amphora is based on the combat diver Frogs (Full Range Oxygen Gas System) apparatus. It is made up of two components: a 2.1L Oxygen cylinder which provides a dive duration of 240 minutes at 7 meters, and a 2L mixture cylinder to be filled with nitrox, which gives a dive duration of 60 minutes.

http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20120402/172560168.html

Whatever works for them I guess. Usually I don't like to see Russia buying foreign equipment, but if their current rebreathers really are that old then I guess it definitely couldn't hurt.

Perhaps they could pass a few of the french models on to the Russian developers so that the Russian developers can see what is expected of them and try to improve further on the design for when they need more or to upgrade?

GarryB wrote:Perhaps they could pass a few of the french models on to the Russian developers so that the Russian developers can see what is expected of them and try to improve further on the design for when they need more or to upgrade?

A good idea. It could possibly be like when they purchased some of those French FELIN systems. They could just be studying and evaluating them. Then they'll work to develop their own version.

I hope anyways.

Do the Russian naval infantry or naval spetsnaz guys or anyone else use ekranoplans, like the A-90?

Do the Russian naval infantry or naval spetsnaz guys or anyone else use ekranoplans, like the A-90?

Not AFAIK.

There were plans for using them as troop transports, and as anti ship missile carriers, but work ended a while ago.

More recently there has been some renewed interest but it is early days yet.

Russian Commandos to Adopt New Underwater Assault Rifles

MOSCOW, October 22 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s army is set to adopt a new assault rifle that performs effectively both on the ground and underwater.

The ADS assault rifle, currently being showcased by the Tula-based KBP design bureau at the Interpolitex 2013 arms show in Moscow, can fire standard-issue 5.45-mm cartridges when above the water with accuracy and effectiveness similar to that of AK-74s.

When submerged and loaded with special 5.45-mm PSP ammunition, the ADS outperforms the service-issue, Soviet-designed APS underwater assault rifle in terms of accuracy and ease of handling.

The new rifle is fitted with an integral 40-mm grenade launcher and adjustable iron sights. Its carrying handle is provided with a bracket to mount various types of optical sights.

“These rifles will soon enter service with special combat units of the Russian army,” a spokesman for KBP design bureau said Tuesday.

For several decades, Soviet and later Russian combat divers and naval commando units were armed with special weapons for underwater combat. These included the SPP-1 pistol and APS underwater assault rifle, which performed poorly on the surface.

The ADS proved its effectiveness and reliability during extensive field trials by Russian naval commando units, according to a KBP design bureau official.

It will replace APS underwater weapons and, possibly, some AK-74M general issue assault rifles in service with Russian special forces units.

Navy spetsnaz new toy.. with video...

"Russian arms manufacturers have unveiled a new technological marvel – the world’s first ever assault rifle capable of
shooting standard size cartridges both underwater and on land."


http://rt.com/news/underwater-gun-russia-debut-627/

Can anybody more knowledgeable on firearms than I explain to me the reason behind the placement of the fire selector on the ADS? It just seems really awkward compared to the selector on other bullpup rifles like the ASh-12.7 which can be manipulated with a quick flick of the index finger.

Most of the time you don't change from full auto to semi or back very often... for the vast majority of the time you will fire single shot, with certain times when burst fire is needed.

The trigger clearly has a built in safety so the lever above the magazine well is only for selecting semi or full auto. The positioning likely allows simpler internal design... having the trigger and pistol grip forward of the magazine means a long connector bar from the trigger to where the hammer is... to have the fire selector forward of where the actual mechanism is would require more extension bars. Where it is located it likely just blocks the auxiliary sear (a hook that holds the hammer back after the first shot to stop the weapon firing). If the auxiliary sear is not blocked then the weapon will continue to fire till the ammo is all gone. If it is blocked the trigger needs to be released and then pulled again to fire repeat shots.

Thanks for the answer Garry.

According to wikipedia page Russian commando frogmen number about 800 men.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_commando_frogmen

Some equipment of Russian commando frogmen

IDA71 military and naval rebreather






APS underwater rifle






Protei-5 Russian diver propulsion vehicle

Wetsuit "Amphora" make underwater invisible naval commandos

Unveiling of Russian Rifle-Amphibious ADS to Be Held at IDEX-2015

Scientific and Production Association “High-Precision Complexes” for the first time will present overseas a rifle for naval commandos ADS at the Defence Industry Exhibition IDEX-2015, which will be held from 22 to 26 February 2015 in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), the press service of Scientific and Production Association told reporters on Friday.

According to the report, due to its unique performance characteristics, ADS is the first rifle in the world, capable of firing equally effective both in water and on land.

“The purpose of the development of the machine was to replace the APS rifle (automatic underwater special) as a combat weapon of special units of the Russian Navy. On land the shooting of a machine gun is effectuated by the caliber 5.45×39 and using the underbarrel grenade launcher with VOG-25 and VOG- 25P. Underwater the fire is effectuated with new cartridges designed specifically for ADS,” was said in a statement.

https://rostechnologiesblog.wordpress.com/2015/02/02/unveiling-of-russian-rifle-amphibious-ads-to-be-held-at-idex-2015/

Cool... but they said the ADS was adopted this year by the naval infantry and some units of the VDV...

State tests of the underwater vehicle "Marlin 350"

Project 21310 "Triton-NN"
.






Very little info on this vessel apart from a few bits and pieces. The tender for a submersible speed boat was back in 2000. It's likely only one sample was produced for tests, although the Swedes reported it's "presence" in the Swedish archipelago in Oct 2014 (report was never confirmed after a media frenzy). The Triton-NN reportedly has 3 modes of operation:

1. above surface as normal speed boat
2. semi-submerged
3. fully submerged.

More pics and info (rus):

http://bmpd.livejournal.com/1271455.html

http://www.deepstorm.ru/DeepStorm.files/on_1992/21310/list.htm

Russian Frogmen Hold Training in Country's Far East

Fully-equipped frogmen practiced one-on-one and group combat, as well as live fire.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russian frogmen from the Pacific Fleet have conducted two days of military tactical live fire drills on the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Russian Defense Ministry’s Eastern Military District’s press service said Friday.

“On the first stage of exercises, the fully-equipped frogmen completed exercises underwater at different times of the day and used cold weapons in one-on-one combat as well as in groups,” the press service said in a statement.

Live fire drills were also employed.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/military/20150424/1021314598.html#ixzz3YDGbl4DL

Russian Navy Creates Spetsnaz Units to Hunt for Enemy Saboteurs

Two special units are being created as a part of Russia's Naval Fleet which are designed to detect the enemy saboteurs in Russia's coastal and littoral waters as well as undertake reconnaissance in an enemy-controlled territory, izvestia.ru reported.

The newly created military units are being equipped with "Raptor" boats which can be used during the storm and develop speed up to 80 km/h. The soldiers will also use unmanned flying machines "Tachyon" which can detect the enemy at the depth of several meters.

"There are two new units being created now. One in the Pacific, the second in Crimea," a representative of the Russian Defense Ministry told the newspaper.

According to the spokesman, both squads are experimental, with their main task being to protect the coast from the enemy sabotage and deploy reconnaissance groups in an enemy-controlled territory.

As director of the Center for Strategic Study Ivan Konovalov told the newspaper, coastal and littoral waters have long been actively used by special forces around the world.

"To protect the entire coast is very difficult, so it is quite convenient to deploy unnoticed reconnaissance and sabotage groups to the territory controlled by the enemy and raid its coastal facilities," Konovalov said.

According to the expert, there are three similar groups in the US Navy equipped with special boats for operations in coastal and littoral zones. The UK armed forces also have so called SBS boat groups (Special Boat Service) which operate at the shore and undertake covert reconnaissance, intelligence gathering and other activities.

http://sputniknews.com/military/20160725/1043591417/russian-navy-spetsnaz.html