A new sniper system being developed in Russia under the experimental design work codenamed Ugolyok will be ready in four years, Chief Designer for the Ratnik Soldier Gear at the TsNIITochMash defense contractor Oleg Nekrasov said.
The new rifle will be chambered for Russian rounds, although it will have NATO calibers: .308 Winchester (7.62x51 mm) and the more powerful .338 Lapua Magnum (8.6x70 mm).
"The Institute [TsNIITochMash] is carrying out work on new sniper systems under a technical assignment from the Defense Ministry," TASS cited the chief designer as saying.
"It will be necessary to develop new rifles, new sights and new cartridges in the NATO calibers: .308 Winchester and .338 Lapua Magnum, new gunpowder and new detonators. The work is planned to be completed in four years," he added.
According to Nekrasov, the new bi-caliber sniper rifle and its ammunition load will be created using solely domestic materials and components.
TsNIITochMash Deputy CEO Mikhail Levshunov said that six different rifle prototypes are currently undergoing tests as part of this experimental design work.
"Two rifles of different ammunition suites from the TsKIB (the Central Design and Research Bureau of Sporting and Hunting Guns, a branch of the Shipunov Instrument Design Bureau), two rifles from the Kalashnikov Group and our two rifles," he explained.
