Standard Firearms in VDV units

Hello all, i have read an article stating each Airborne Company hs now got a Sniper Section with 12.7mm KSVK Sniper Rifle - Can anyone tell me if :

1) This is true ?
2) How many mean and weapons are in this section
3) Is this the same for BMD Companies if so,in which vehicle do they travel in.
Hope you can helpme
thanks
Steve

Have not heard of that, though there was a news report a while back that they were getting Steyr sniper rifles in 7.62 x 51mm calibre.

Initially they said it was SSG-69 rifles, but later photos revealed it was actually SSG 04 rifles or possibly 08s.

It was an article i read on the internet again i am not sure how accurate it is, that why i thought i would ask the forum.
cheers
Steve

I dpon't know for sure, but I would expect the KSVK... which off the top of my head is the bullpup layout bolt action 12.7mm rifle would be useful against human targets out to about 1,500m, but I would suspect lacks the high accuracy ammo for such a role.

It would be more of an anti material rifle than a sniper rifle... the SSG rifle would likely be more accurate and useful at extended ranges... though its calibre would restrict its effective range to about 800-900m.

I do know the Russian military is testing 338LM calibre weapons and as such they would be effective at up to 1,500m depending on which version they are testing.

As to TOEs most paper TOEs are just that, and for different missions they would have different numbers of men with different equipment fits.

You might ask Vlad to chat about his experience, though obviously there are likely things he wont want to share and also things he can't share on an open forum.

Kord 12.7mm HMG - Are the Kord 12.7mm HMG issued to Russian Airborne troops i have seen no reference to these being used. If they are does anyone know at what level i.e Battalion or Company

cheers all
Steve

It is normal for VDV and special units to get new weapons first, so I would expect them to have access to them.

The Utes is made in the Ukraine, so the Kord was developed to replace it.

The improved design apparently reduces bullet spread by a significant margin.

Any idea's how many would be attached to each Battalion or would it be task specific ?

cheers
Steve

I have no idea.

Often with these sorts of heavy weapons they have separate HMG units that can be attached when required, but then grenade launcher crews (ie AGL-30) can be an organic part of a standard unit too.

Thanks Garry, I was wondering if they would be allocated to the Battalion AGL platoon - if required ?

cheers pal
steve

It is possible, but I suspect it would be attached as its own HMG platoon.

12.7mm HMG is effective against lightly armoured vehicles but generally 30mm grenades are very effective against many targets too and the 30mm grenade launcher (AGL-30) only weighs 16kgs including mount, though the ammo is heavy... it is not so important in a fully mechanised unit.

Mounting an AGL-30 on a BTR-D would be quite common I suspect.

If you never saw NSV in VDV, you won't see Kord. The general purpose MG of VDV is the 7.62mm PKB.

Thanks for the info are the NSV still issued to the VDV and how many PKP would be issued to a VDV company. I wanton get my figures correctly armed.

Hello all - can anyone please help what was the standard squad support weapon in 2008 era. Was it the RPKS-74 or the PKP. Any help would be great

Cheers
Steve

It was my understanding that the PKT MGs in the bow positions of the BMDs were dismountable as the squad support weapon.
I have read about, but never actually seen stocks that can be attached to the weapons so they can be used like standard PKMs.

I have seen such stocks for the Utes 12.7mm HMGs so they can be fired the same way... though on a tripod normally.

The PKT and Utes are not normally fired from the shoulder so neither is normally fitted with a buttstock, which makes firing dismounted awkward.

I have an advert for the PKP in a book I bought in 2004, but I have no idea when it was adopted by the VDV, they might have had test samples even earlier than that.

Based on Vlads answer I would say Kord and Utes are not general issue to VDV.

There could be exceptions of course where a specific situation might make the issue of such weapons practical.

I remember seeing Utes on a tripod on a BMP-2 in Afghanistan. It was a photo book about armour in Afghanistan in the 1980s when the Soviet forces were there but the Concord publication misidentified the weapon as being a PKM.

Obviously with photos it is quite hard to distinguish size properly but the ammo belt hanging from the weapon was rather wider than the width of the mans hand who was standing next to it, which meant either he has the hands of a child or the ammo was 12.7 x 108mm.

I mention this because in Afghanistan at least some VDV units traded in their BMDs for BMP-2Ms because it was found that the very rough country often resulted in damage to the BMD hull structure, with a few cracked hulls just from going too fast over rough ground.

In a combat zone the TOEs become rules of thumb, and even in peacetime if something is not available then it might not be there either.

Obviously you want accuracy, but if no one can tell you what is right, then they wont be able to tell you it is wrong... or when they do you can change it...

Note the PKB already has a stock and pistol grip but is designed to be fired from a pintle mount... except the versions used in Mi-8s which had spade grips.
The PKT in the bow position of the BMD were solenoid fired, so to remove them and use them as a GPMG you would need to add a shoulder stock and pistol grip, but the PKT has a very heavy barrel and no iron sights so dismounting it would be only for emergencies.
Using PKBs makes much more sense... see... you can learn new things every day...

You can see the Kord mounted on a BMD in several scenes starting from 07:30 onwards

Great scene with the Kord on a tripod mounted on a BTR-D. Interesting that there appeared to be 3 x BMD (Platoon) and a BTR-D perhaps each platoon is allocated a BTR-D as well


steve

Cool video, nice ambush scene.

steve501 wrote:...Interesting that there appeared to be 3 x BMD (Platoon) and a BTR-D perhaps each platoon is allocated a BTR-D as well

Makes sense but I couldn't say for sure

The main sniper rifle of Russian Airborne Troops (VDV) today is no longer the SVD, but the new SV-98