Russian Army Starts deploying the new Kalashnikov Chukavin Sniper

Russia’s Kalashnikov Group, the manufacturer of small arms weapons including the famous Soviet-era assault AK-47 rifle, has announced the deployment of the first serial batch of the Chukavin sniper rifle (SVCh) to military units following the rifle’s successful completion of stringent testing and initiation into mass production.

The Chukavin sniper rifle, or SVCh, is a new semi-automatic rifle designed by Kalashnikov Concern as a replacement for the old Dragunov SVD. The SVCh is a modular rifle that can fire different calibers, such as 7.62x54R, 7.62x51mm NATO, and .338 Lapua Magnum. Mass production of the SVCh began in 2023.

The rifle weighs 4.8 kg without a magazine, with a caliber of 7.62×54 mm. The overall length of the rifle (with the unfolded buttstock and flash suppressor) is 1170 mm, with a barrel length of 620 mm. The SVCh has a reliable gas venting mechanism with a short-stroke gas piston and a three-position rotary gas regulator.

The SVCh has a modern design, with an adjustable stock, a free-floating barrel, a thumb safety, and a left-side charging handle. The SVCh also has a full-length Picatinny rail for mounting various optics and accessories. The rifle uses a short-stroke piston gas-operated action and rotary bolt locking as its firing mechanism.