The representative of the company-developer, Design Bureau of Instrument Engineering (KBP) them. Shipunova, talked about new TASS.
According to him, at the upcoming exhibition there will be a number of modifications of the rifle for the world's most popular "sniper" cartridges 7,62 x 67 mm (300 Winchester Magnum) and 8,6 x 70 mm (338 Lapua Magnum), well, under the rifle 7,62 x51MXXN ).
Recall that the MC-116M in the basic version uses the standard for the Russian army rifle cartridge 7,62 x 54 mm and the 10-charging shop SVD. Previously, it was also reported that optionally a rifle can be performed under 308 Win, for export deliveries.
According to the representative of KBP, the rifle, chambered for 300 Win Mag or 300 Winchester Magnum, has not just subminute accuracy - the dispersion of a bullet at a distance of one hundred meters is only 13 mm.
MC-116 M went into a series back in the 90 years of the last century, but was issued in small batches, entering into service only for the special forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Defense and the FSB. it weapon quite expensive, and it is unlikely that modifications in these calibers with remarkable characteristics will become mass armament of Army or Rosguard snipers. It is more likely that they will also enter into service with the elite groups of counterterrorism and the protection of senior officials.
Although, as the experience of Donbass and the Middle East shows, rifles of such calibers with the ability to fire on inaccessible to conventional rifle cartridges (7,62х54, 308Win) are needed not only by the elite, but also by snipers acting in the interests of infantry units.
Such rifles are intermediate between sniper self-charges for conventional rifle cartridges with an effective range of fire up to 600 meters and large-caliber rifles. Which in the West are called "anti-material": they are intended for firing at long distances to destroy lightly armored and unarmored targets, as well as enemy personnel behind cover and in personal protective equipment.
In addition, KBP intends to present at the exhibition another rifle based on MC-116, which, undoubtedly, will cause great interest of the audience. This is a silent caliber rifle 12,7 mm. This, of course, is not about "anti-material" rifles like OSV-96 or Barrett M82 - it is impossible to make them "silent". In contrast, the MC-116M in silent, large-caliber design will use ammunition with a subsonic bullet velocity.
Accordingly, the effective fire of the rifle will be limited (to 300 meters), and its intended purpose - military operations and counter-terrorist operations in urban environments.
At first glance, she finds herself in the Vintorez tactical niche of the BCC, and at first glance, she loses to him in almost all the articles. In fact, even if the silent version of the MC-116 exceeds BCC in accuracy, it is inferior to it in all other parameters: weight, mobility, and, finally, rate of fire. And the accuracy of the BCC for those distances at which these rifles will be used is quite acceptable.
But if we are talking about the need for one hundred percent defeat of a small-sized target with the first and only shot (namely, such tasks may arise during an antiterrorist operation), the choice in favor of the “bolt” with minute accuracy is obvious.
In addition, 9x39 mm cartridges, even in their armor-piercing version (SP-6, SPP and BP), are ineffective against lightly armored targets and the most modern assault body armor, which are continuously being improved.
That is why the 116 caliber mm is used at 12,7 MC: the large weight of the bullet compensates for its low flight speed, allowing you to maintain the necessary striking effect at specified distances.
What kind of ammunition will be used, the interlocutor TASS does not indicate. But it is easy to assume that it is most likely talking about the cartridge 12,7 × 55 mm SC-130. Which was developed for a silent large-caliber sniper rifle VSSK "Exhaust", which is in service with the TsSN FSB and has similar characteristics with those voiced for the silent 116 MC.
Recall that this cartridge was created in TsKIB SOO for low-noise and flameless destruction of protected targets and manpower in heavy body armor at ranges up to 600 meters.
One of the requirements of the tactical and technical assignment for the creation of a sniper rifle-silencer-cartridge complex provided for a considerable superiority of the new ammunition over the standard 9 × 39 mm cartridges in the striking effect and range of the actual fire.
The weight of the SC-130 bullet, depending on the modification, ranges from 50 to 76 grams. In the double-core armor-piercing version (STS-130 VPS), it is able to pierce an 15-mm steel plate at a distance of up to 150 meters and an armor jacket of 5 protection class at a distance of up to 100 meters. However, if she doesn’t penetrate it at a greater distance, it is not difficult to imagine what kind of over-injured injuries the carrier of a bullet-proof vest will receive from hitting a 50-gram bullet.
As we see, the large-caliber MC-116 is a direct competitor to the VSSK Vykhlop, although there is still too little information for a more detailed comparison. However, it is obvious that the novelty, like the VSSK, is a narrow-weapon weapon. But sniper rifles for Magnum cartridges can be widely demanded in all security agencies. And in the case of appropriate certification - and in the civilian market.