View source for AS Val and VSS Vintorez

{{Short description|Soviet infantry rifle}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{More footnotes needed|date=August 2022}}
{{Infobox weapon
| name               = AS Val and VSS Vintorez
| image              = AS Val & VSS Vintorez - RaceofHeroes-part2-34.jpg
| image_size         = 300
| alt                = 
| caption            = ''VSS'' (top) equipped with the [[PSO-1|PSO-1-1]] and 10-round magazine. ''VAL'' (bottom) with a 20-round magazine
| type               = {{plainlist|
*[[Assault rifle]] (AS Val)
*[[Sniper rifle]] (VSS Vintorez)
}}
| origin             = Soviet Union
<!-- Type selection -->
| is_ranged          = yes
<!-- Service history -->
| service            = 1987−Present<ref>{{cite web |last1=Schooler |first1=Lynndon |title=Keeping Its Place in Russian Battle Space The AS Val 9×39 Special Purpose Assault Rifle |url=https://sadefensejournal.com/keeping-its-place-in-russian-battle-space-the-as-val-9x39-special-purpose-assault-rifle/ |website=Small Arms Defense Journal |access-date=2 January 2025 |date=13 October 2023}}</ref>
| used_by            = See ''[[#Users|users]]
| wars               = {{plainlist|
*[[First Chechen War]]
*[[Second Chechen War]]
*[[Iraq War]]<ref name="Safar">{{cite web |last1=Besedovskyy |first1=Vlad |title=VSS Vintorez used by Ukrainian special forces in Iraq |url=https://www.safar-publishing.com/post/vss-vintorez-used-by-ukrainian-special-forces-in-iraq |website=Safar Publishing |access-date=24 December 2023 |language=en |date=2 May 2023}}</ref>
*[[Russo-Georgian War]]
*[[Russo-Ukrainian War]]
}}
<!-- Production history -->
| designer           = Pyotr Serdyukov and Vladimir Krasnikov
| design_date        = 1981
| manufacturer       = [[Tula Arms Plant]]
| developed_from     =
| developed_into     =
| unit_cost          = 
| production_date    = 1987−Present
| number             = 
| variants           = ASM and VSSM
<!-- General specifications -->
| spec_label         =
| mass               = {{plainlist|
*{{convert|2.5|kg|abbr=on}} (AS Val, unloaded)
*{{convert|5.7|kg|abbr=on}} (AS Val, with NSP-3 night sight)
*{{convert|2.6|kg|abbr=on}} (VSS Vintorez, unloaded)
*{{convert|3.4|kg|abbr=on}} (VSS Vintorez, with PSO-1-1 telescopic sight)
}}
| length             = {{plainlist|
*{{convert|650|mm|abbr=on}} (AS Val, stock folded)
*{{convert|875|mm|abbr=on}} (AS Val, stock extended)
*{{convert|894|mm|abbr=on}} (VSS Vintorez)
}}
| part_length        = {{convert|200|mm|abbr=on}}{{sfn|Johnston|Nelson|2016|page=1420}}
| width              = 
| height             = 
| diameter           = 
| crew               = 
| passengers         = 
<!-- Ranged weapon specifications --> 
| cartridge          = [[9×39mm]]
| cartridge_weight   = 
| caliber            = 
| barrels            = 
| action             = [[Gas-operated reloading#Long-stroke|Gas-operated long-stroke]], [[rotating bolt]]
| rate               = {{plainlist|
*800−900 rounds per minute (cyclic)
*30 rounds per minute (effective, semi-automatic)
*60 rounds per minute (effective, automatic)
}}
| velocity           = {{plainlist|
*{{convert|280-290|m/s|abbr=on}}
}}
| range              = {{plainlist|
*{{convert|400|m|yd|abbr=on}} (day)
*{{convert|300|m|yd|abbr=on}} (night)
}}
| max_range          = 
| feed               = 20-round detachable [[box magazine]] (interchangeable with VSS Vintorez 10-round magazine)
| sights             = [[Iron sights]], [[telescopic sight]], [[night sight]]
<!-- For all -->
| ref                = {{sfn|Jones|Ness|2010|pages=189,252}}
}}

The '''AS Val''' "Shaft" (Russian: '''АС''' '''«Вал»'''; Автома́т Специа́льный, <small>[[Romanization of Russian|romanized:]]</small> ''Avtomát Spetsiálny "Val"'', <small>[[Literal translation|lit.]]</small> 'Special Automatic')<ref>{{Cite web |title=9 mm special assault rifle AS {{!}} Catalog Rosoboronexport |url=http://roe.ru/eng/catalog/Security%20systems/Counterterrorist%20assets/Assault%20rifles/AS/ |access-date=2023-05-07 |website=roe.ru}}</ref> and '''VSS Vintorez''' "Thread Cutter" (Russian: '''ВСС «Винторе́з»''' Винто́вка Сна́йперская Специа́льная, <small>[[Romanization of Russian|romanized:]]</small> ''Vintóvka Snáyperskaya Spetsiálnaya "Vintorez"'', <small>[[Literal translation|lit.]]</small> 'Special "Sniper" Rifle'),<ref>{{Cite web |title=9 mm special sniper rifle VSS {{!}} Catalog Rosoboronexport |url=http://roe.ru/eng/catalog/Security%20systems/Counterterrorist%20assets/Sniper%20rifles/VSS/ |access-date=2023-05-07 |website=roe.ru}}</ref> '''6P30''' and '''6P29''' ([[GRAU]] designation) respectively, are [[Soviet Union|Soviet]]-designed [[assault rifle]]s featuring an integral [[suppressor]] based on the prototype RG-036 completed in 1981 by [[TsNIITochMash]].<ref>{{Citation |title=AS Val, VSS Vintorez, OTs-14 Groza, and more: 9x39mm with Max Popenker |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkprsBoImRg |access-date=2023-05-07 |language=en}}</ref> 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 [[AK-74#AKS-74UB|AKS-74UB]], [[BS-1 Tishina|BS-1]], [[Stechkin automatic pistol#APB|APB]], and [[PB (pistol)|PB]], for [[clandestine operations]], much like the [[PSS silent pistol|PSS Vul]]. Manufacturing began at the [[Tula Arms Plant]] after its adoption by the [[Soviet Armed Forces|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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Modernized ASM and VSSM | website=[[YouTube]] |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk7KyOWPJt8 |access-date=2023-05-07 |language=en}}</ref>

==Development==
The AS Val can trace its origins back to the [[1960 U-2 incident]], where the Soviets captured US Air Force pilot [[Gary Powers]] alongside his equipment, including a suppressed pistol, which impressed them enough to issue a requirement for similar Soviet weapon. The captured pistol was examined by the TsNIITochMash at [[Klimovsk]] by a team of designers that included G. Petropavlov, Yu Krulov, V. Sabelinikov, A. Neougodev, A. Deryagin, A. Khinikadze, I. Kas'yanov, P. Serdyukov, V. Petrov, and V. Levchenko. They pioneered the development of suppressed weapons and specialized ammunition in Russia.{{sfn|Jones|Ness|2010|page=188}}

With increasing tensions between the West and the Soviet Union during the late 1970s and 1980s, and both the United States and the USSR locked in a war between proxies, the [[KGB]] and [[GRU (Soviet Union)|GRU]] ordered the development of small arms suitable for covert operations around the world and in 1981, weapon designers P. I. Serdyukov and V. F. Krasnikov of TsNIITochMash began working on a combination of a new suppressed rifle and subsonic cartridge.{{sfn|Johnston|Nelson|2016|page=1412}}

Development of the VSS Vintorez was carried out in parallel with the AS Val, to provide a suppressed sniper rifle for [[Spetsnaz]] undercover or clandestine units and capable of defeating NATO body armour at ranges up to {{convert|400|m|yd|abbr=on}} with little noise as possible.{{sfn|Jones|Ness|2010|page=252}}{{sfn|Johnston|Nelson|2016|page=1414}}

==Design==

[[File:VSSM Vintorez 6P29M - 4thTankDivisionOpenDay17p2-22.jpg|thumb|A VSSM with a 20-round magazine]]
The AS Val uses a modified Kalashnikov action - a gas-operated rotating bolt combined with an integral suppressor and chambered for the [[9×39mm]] SP-6 cartridge firing a heavy 250 grain bullet at subsonic speed.{{sfn|Jones|Ness|2010|page=188}} The suppressor makes use of the dual-chamber principle: the propellant gases are vented through specially designed perforations along the barrel into the first chamber, where the hot gases cool down and lose pressure before passing through the second chamber via a series of mesh screens which break the gas stream even further before leaving the barrel.{{sfn|Jones|Ness|2010|pages=188−189}}{{sf|Johnston|Nelson|2016|page=1419}} The resulting sound signature is significantly lower than an unsuppressed rifle, and even from a short distance it cannot be recognized as the discharge of a rifle.{{sfn|Jones|Ness|2010|page=189}} The VSS Vintorez suppressor and operating systems are exactly the same as the AS Val, but optimised to fire the 9×39mm SP-5 subsonic cartridge with a hardened steel or tungsten tip to defeat body armour.{{sfn|Jones|Ness|2010|page=252}}

The AS Val uses a 20-round detachable box magazine, while the VSS Vintorez uses a 10-round, though they are interchangeable.{{sfn|Jones|Ness|2010|pages=189,252}} They can also accept the [[SR-3 Vikhr]] magazines and vice versa.{{sfn|Johnston|Nelson|2016|page=1426}} The magazines have a series of horizontal indentations to provide tactile identification and prevent confusion with Kalashnikov-pattern magazines.{{sfn|Jones|Ness|2010|page=189}} The indentations also provide rigidity to the magazine walls.{{sfn|Johnston|Nelson|2016|page=1418}}

The VSS Vintorez can be broken down for transport in a special aluminum briefcase for clandestine operations. A PSO-1-1 (1P43) telescopic sight, a NPSU-3 night sight with a 3.46X magnification, and two magazines are included in the briefcase.{{sfn|Jones|Ness|2010|page=252}}{{sfn|Johnston|Nelson|2016|page=1414}}<!-- If anybody can find a wiki-friendly image of a disassembled Vintorez or Val in a case (as well as a close-up of the integrated suppressor), please add it.  --> The AS Val can mount the [[PSO-1]] telescopic sight of the [[SVD rifle]], or the 1PN52-1 night sight. Iron sights are also provided to both rifles.{{sfn|Jones|Ness|2010|pages=189,252}}{{sfn|Johnston|Nelson|2016|page=1415}} According to ''[[Janes Information Services|Janes]]'', the VSS telescopic sight has a length of {{convert|375|mm|abbr=on}} and weights {{convert|580|g|abbr=on}}, while the night sight has a length of {{convert|340|mm|abbr=on}} and weights {{convert|2.1|kg|abbr=on}}.{{sfn|Jones|Ness|2010|page=252}}

Both guns are selective fire designs. While the Vintorez is normally used in single-fire mode wih 10-round magazines, it is capable of firing short bursts of automatic fire and use the 20-round magazine from the Val in cases of emergency.{{sfn|Jones|Ness|2010|pages=189,252}} The full auto fire option of the Vintorez can also be used for ambushes or attacks against soft-skinned vehicles such as trucks.{{sfn|Johnston|Nelson|2016|page=1415}}

==Operational history==
Both the AS Val and VSS Vintorez were issued to Soviet troops since the late 1980s. They were used during the [[First Chechen War]] in 1994 and the [[Second Chechen War]] in 1999, though they remained relatively obscure amongst Western intelligence agencies and similar organizations until the Russians deployed troops to [[South Ossetia]] during the [[Russo-Georgian War]] in 2008.{{sfn|Johnston|Nelson|2016|page=1424}} During the conflict, both Russian and Georgian forces used the VSS Vintorez.{{sfn|Galeotti|2023|pages=23,117}} They were also seen in use by Russian Spetsnaz during the [[Russo-Ukrainian War]].{{sfn|Ferguson|Jenzen-Jones|2014|page=26}}{{sfn|Galeotti|2019|page=39}} 

[[File:UA International Legion of TDF 02.jpg|thumb|International Legion of Territorial Defence Forces of Ukraine soldier showing a captured Russian AS Val]]
The VSS Vintorez was used in small numbers by the [[Security Service of Ukraine]]'s [[Alpha Group (Ukraine)|Alpha Group]], which was protecting the Ukrainian embassy in Iraq in the 2000s.<ref name="Safar" /> By 2014, it was no longer in use by any security forces in Ukraine.{{sfn|Ferguson|Jenzen-Jones|2014|page=32}} According to ''Militarnyi'', the VSS was retired from service due to the lack of ammo.<ref>{{cite news |title=Criminals with Vintorez and Val rifles were detained in Chernihiv region |url=https://mil.in.ua/en/news/criminals-with-vintorez-and-val-rifles-were-detained-in-chernihiv-region/ |access-date=28 December 2024 |work=Militarnyi |date=6 June 2022}}</ref> However, during the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]], significant numbers of AS Val and VSS Vintorez rifles were captured from Russian forces.<ref name="Safar" />

==Users==
[[File:2018 Moscow Victory Day Parade 43.jpg|thumb|[[National Guard of Russia]] troops carrying the [[AS Val]] in the [[2018 Moscow Victory Day Parade]]]]

===Current===

* {{flag|Armenia}}: A small number of weapons were received from Russia among other arms before 2014.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Как обеспечивается баланс сил в Закавказье |url=https://vestikavkaza.ru/articles/Kak-obespechivaetsya-balans-sil-v-Zakavkaze.html |access-date=2021-05-15 |website=vestikavkaza.ru |date=14 July 2014 |language=ru-RU}}</ref>
* {{flag|Belarus}}: Used by various [[special forces]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ствол, с которым идут в разведку {{!}} Еженедельник "Военно-промышленный курьер" |url=https://vpk-news.ru/articles/21835 |access-date=2021-05-15 |website=vpk-news.ru}}</ref>
* {{flag|Cuba}}: Used by the Mobile Brigade of Special Troops<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://cuba-militaria.org/avispas-negras/|title=Tropas Especiales "Avispas Negras"|website= cuba-militaria.org|date=8 April 2014 |language=en, es, de|access-date=May 31, 2021}}</ref> 
* {{flag|Georgia}}: Used by army and police [[GSOF - Georgian Special Operations Forces|special forces]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Спецподразделения Грузии |url=http://osinform.org/939-spetspodrazdelenija_gruzii.html |access-date=2021-05-15 |website=АЛАНИЯинформ |language=ru}}</ref> some configured with [[Aimpoint AB|Aimpoint]] and Kobra red dot sights<ref>{{Cite web |title=Armament of the Georgian Army |url=http://geo-army.ge/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9&Itemid=9&lang=en |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309192408/http://geo-army.ge/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9&Itemid=9&lang=en |archive-date=2012-03-09 |website=geo-army.ge}}</ref>
* {{IND}}: Used by [[MARCOS]]<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=P |first=Rajat |date=19 July 2019 |title=Elite special forces of Army, IAF, Navy get major weapons upgrade {{!}} India News – Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/elite-special-forces-of-army-iaf-navy-get-major-weapons-upgrade/articleshow/65046489.cms |access-date=18 July 2019 |website=The Times of India |language=en}}</ref>
* {{flag|Russia}}: Used by Special forces,<ref>{{Cite web |title=ЦАМТО / Новости / В ВВО поступила партия модернизированных снайперских винтовок "Винторез" |url=https://armstrade.org/includes/periodics/news/2020/0831/101559399/detail.shtml |access-date=2021-05-15 |website=armstrade.org}}</ref> [[Federal Security Service]] (FSB)<ref name="auto2">{{cite web |title=— " " |url=http://bratishka.ru/archiv/2005/2/2005_2_5.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070221065922/http://www.bratishka.ru/archiv/2005/2/2005_2_5.php |archive-date=2007-02-21 |website=bratishka.ru}}</ref> and [[OMON]]{{sfn|Neville|2016|p=229}}<ref name="1PN51">{{cite book |url=http://www.ak-info.ru/devices/nspu3/nspu3_manual.zip |title=ИЗДЕЛИЕ 1ПН51 ТЕХНИЧЕСКОЕ ОПИСАНИЕ И ИНСТРУКЦИЯ ПО ЭКСПЛУАТАЦИИ |date=January 1992 |page=11 |language=ru |trans-title=Product 1PN51 technical description and operating instructions |format=zip |id=АЛ3.812.076 ТО-ЛУ}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=ЦАМТО / Новости / Разведчики ВВО в Приамурье получили партию специальных автоматов АСМ 'Вал' последней модификации |url=https://armstrade.org/includes/periodics/news/2020/1216/101560904/detail.shtml |access-date=2021-05-11 |website=armstrade.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=ЦАМТО / / Разведчиков ЦВО в Самарской области впервые вооружили модернизированным бесшумным оружием |url=https://armstrade.org/includes/periodics/news/2021/1209/095065604/detail.shtml}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=ЦАМТО / / Около тысячи автоматов АК-12 получил спецназ ЦВО в Новосибирской области в 2021 году |url=https://armstrade.org/includes/periodics/news/2021/1209/095565605/detail.shtml}}</ref>
* {{UKR}}<ref name="Safar" />

===Former===
* {{flag|Chechen Republic of Ichkeria}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Neville |first=Leigh |title=Modern Snipers |date=25 Aug 2016 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |isbn=9781472815347 |series=General Military |page=190}}</ref>
* {{flag|Soviet Union}}<ref name="auto2"/>

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="200px" heights="140px">
File:4thTankDivisionOpenDay17p2-18.jpg|An ASM with a 30-round magazine
File:AS Val - RaceofHeroes-part2-26 (cropped).jpg|The instruction sheet of the AS Val which includes a field stripped model of the rifle
File:51AirborneRegiment49 (cropped).jpg|PSO-1M2-1 scope mounted on a VSS Vintorez
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[AMB-17]] 
* [[OTs-14 Groza]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite report |last1=Ferguson |first1=Jonathan |last2=Jenzen-Jones |first2=N.R. |title=Raising Red Flags: An Examination of Arms & Munitions in the Ongoing Conflict in Ukraine, 2014 |date=2014 |publisher=[[Armament Research Services]] Pty. Ltd. |isbn=978-0-9924624-3-7 |url=https://armamentresearch.com/Uploads/Research%20Report%20No.%203%20-%20Raising%20Red%20Flags.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141118231705/https://armamentresearch.com/Uploads/Research%20Report%20No.%203%20-%20Raising%20Red%20Flags.pdf |archive-date=18 November 2014 |access-date=27 December 2024}}
*{{cite book |last1=Galeotti |first1=Mark |title=Armies of Russia's War in Ukraine |date=2019 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4728-3345-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XW90DwAAQBAJ |language=en |author1-link=Mark Galeotti}}
*{{cite book |last1=Galeotti |first1=Mark |title=Russia's Five-Day War: The invasion of Georgia, August 2008 |date=2023 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4728-5097-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EeaeEAAAQBAJ |language=en}}
*{{cite book |last1=Johnston |first1=Gary Paul |last2=Nelson |first2=Thomas B. |title=The World's Assault Rifles |date=2016 |publisher=Ironside International Publishers Inc. |isbn=978-1-61984-601-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z3O6DQAAQBAJ |language=en}}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Jones |editor1-first=Richard D|editor2-last=Ness |editor2-first=Leland S |title=Jane's Infantry Weapons 2010–2011 |date=2010 |publisher=Jane's Information Group |isbn=978-0-7106-2908-1 |language=en}}
{{refend}}

[[Category:9×39mm firearms]]
[[Category:Assault rifles of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Sniper rifles of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Silenced firearms]]
[[Category:Sniper rifles of Russia]]
[[Category:Assault rifles of Russia]]
[[Category:Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1987]]