Initially, Bondarev relied on the fact that his new rifle would consist of the maximum possible number of parts from the SVD, which would reduce the cost of re-equipment of production in the case of mass production of these weapons. The dimensions of the rifle, while retaining the main characteristics, the designer decided to reduce due to the layout of the bullpup, which was the only solution that would give a tangible result. As a result, the designer spent 4 of the year on the creation of his weapon, and already in 1979, several samples were demonstrated to the military, but, as we know, this did not produce any results. They simply didn’t become interested in weapons, pointing out the drawbacks inherent in the bullpup layout, but forgetting to mention the main advantages. In other words, the designer was refused, which was not discussed, and the weapon was forgotten for more than 10 years. Only in 1991, at the insistence of the Vympel command, this weapon was reanimated and even minimal, but mass production was established. So this weapon is much older than many people think, and for a long time it was gathering dust only in the form of prototypes.
Since the weapon was created on the basis of the SVD, and the designer himself put a lot of effort into making the rifles have as much general details as possible, it is not surprising that, despite the different layout of the weapon, both models have much in common. Thus, almost all mechanisms of weapons correspond to those of the SVD. The basis of the rifle naturally became the vapor system of automation with a short stroke of the piston, the barrel bore is locked by the same turn of the bolt from the SVD. The trigger mechanism, of course, completely retained unchanged failed in view of the layout of the weapon, but its main difference is only the long pull of the trigger, which runs along the left side of the receiver. Naturally, it is far from being the easiest to remake a weapon from a classic layout to a bullpup, and it is not enough to do just “to shoot”. In order to reduce the maximum length of the weapon, the designer shortened the “native” barrel of the SVD to 10 centimeters, and shifted the gas outlet backwards, which minimally affected the accuracy of the weapon, but because of this, the load on the gas rod increased. To solve this problem and eliminate breakage with increased loads, an earring on the rod was introduced into the design of the weapon. Hinged on it, it rested against the wall of the exhaust pipe. Not bypassed the designer and the problem of compensation for the return of weapons when shooting. The first was developed muzzle brake-compensator recoil, in addition, the weapon was awarded a rather interesting butt pad, which has the ability to move slightly forward, being spring-loaded, which reduces the sharpness of recoil when fired. Interestingly, the DTK rifle performs not only its main functions, but is also a kind of load that partially balances the balance of the weapon, as well as reduces the vibration of the barrel when fired. In addition, this device partially dampens the sound of a shot. The pistol grip of the weapon is located approximately in the center of gravity of the weapon, which is undoubtedly the plus of this rifle as a weapon in the bullpup layout. The forearm is taken from the SVD, but on the left side the trim had to be trimmed in order to fit the seat for the sight. In addition to the possibility of installing an optical sight, the rifle also has open aiming devices made in the form of a diopter and front sight on high racks, and you can use them with or without an installed optical sight. It feeds weapons from the detachable box magazine with a capacity of 10 cartridges.
In 1993, the weapon receives its first upgrade and the letter A is added to its name, and the upgrade itself of the weapon itself consisted only in that the rifle was endowed with the possibility of automatic fire. The name of the weapon looked like SVU-A or OTs-03A. In the 1995 year, relying on the reviews of war veterans in Chechnya, weapons are being upgraded again. At this time, folding bipods are added, and the letter C is added to the name. So the weapon is now called VCA-AU or OTs-03AC In both upgrades, it was necessary to upgrade the trigger mechanism of the weapon, and switching between automatic and single fire, which occurs depending on on how deep the trigger is pressed. Shoeguns with a capacity of 20 and 30 cartridges were developed for the SVU-A and SVU-AS rifles, but keep in mind that firing with a queue greatly affects the efficiency of the choke, and because of the accumulated powder gases, it will not be extinguished the sound of a shot with the same efficiency as with a single fire.All three rifles use the 7,62x54 cartridge, have a total length of 870 millimeters and a barrel length 520 millimeters. The weight of the VCA and VCA-A is equal to 4,4 of a kilogram, the weight of the VCA-AS due to the bipods and the place of their attachment has grown to 5,5 of a kilogram. IED-A and IED-AU have a rate of automatic fire 650 shots per minute. The initial speed of a bullet with the barrels of this weapon is 830 meters per second.
