Dragunov rifle did not survive the special operation
7,62 mm sniper rifle SVDS (6V3); 7,62 mm sniper rifle SVD (6V1); 7,62 mm sniper rifle SVDM (6V11)
Ranged combat is a priority
There are currently two ways to analyze the state of affairs on the fronts of a special operation. The first is to be directly on the line of combat contact. In this case, the efficiency, reliability and density of information will be the best. But it will only concern the section of the front where the reporter/journalist/researcher is located.
The second way is careful monitoring of specialized resources on the topic of the SVO. Starting from patriotic Telegram channels and ending with serious analytical firms, for example, the Center for Analysis and Strategies of Ruslan Pukhov. Of great importance are also the memories of front-line soldiers, which have increasingly begun to be collected in separate publications. In the West, such work is called OSINT intelligence, that is, collecting information from open sources. It can be called differently, but the result is the same - such analysis shows the most realistic picture of front-line life without direct participation. All other reports, analytics and summaries through military department channels will be inaccessible to a wide range of readers for a very long time. Therefore, we will be content with what we have.
One of the rare photos of the SVD during a special operation. The initial period of military operations
The special operation has already rewritten more than one charter. Not only the Russian one, but also the Ukrainian one, and, especially, the NATO one. New realities of combat have emerged at all levels. At the tactical level, a significant transformation of sniper work is observed. In a number of cases, snipers are successfully replaced by ATGM crews. Anti-tank gunners in the special operation have practically no work left for their intended purpose – Tanks gradually moved out of the line of sight.
It takes a long time and a lot of money to train a sniper pair capable of destroying targets at a distance of 1000 meters. Why risk "surgeons" on the battlefield if you can hit an enemy bunker with a thermobaric rocket? And from a much greater distance, excluding the possibility of being hit by return fire. As a result, in a number of cases, long-range truckers with ATGMs were engaged in direct fire support of the assault units. A whole tactic of using missiles was developed, including the use of three types of ATGMs - "Kornet" at long distances, "Konkurs" at medium distances, and in conditionally close combat, "Fagots" are used. Anti-tank missiles in the SVO are an extensive story, which requires separate consideration.
But let's get back to the sniper arms, or rather, to the main subject of the conversation - the SVD or infantry sniper rifle. This material substantiates the idea of gradually abandoning the semi-automatic close-combat rifle. There are several reasons at once. The first is that aerial reconnaissance has significantly expanded the "gray zone" where it is simply impossible to equip a position for snipers at a distance of 1000 meters. Therefore, all high-precision small arms now work at distances of one kilometer. And here the SVD simply has nothing to do - its effective firing range does not exceed 300-400 meters. Separately, it is worth noting that even the work of long-range rifles has to be masked by machine gun fire, otherwise the enemy will unmistakably determine the location of a sniper pair. More precisely, not a pair, but a trio and even a five.
For a sniper to work effectively, he now requires not only an observer, but also a machine gunner, a reconnaissance operator drone and even an evacuation group. Snipers on special operations are forced to work most of the time at night. According to surveys of front-line soldiers, up to 80 percent of combat work occurs at night. Through thermal imaging devices, targets look much more contrasting, and the probability of being detected is much lower. Night conditions reduce the effective firing range (even with a high-quality thermal imager), which also does not play in favor of the Marksman SVD.
The second reason for the reduction in the number of SVDs at the front was the transformation of the tactical units of the Russian Army. Previously, the smallest attack unit was a squad, now - pairs and threes of assault aircraft. In a motorized rifle squad, there was a regular position of an infantry sniper with an SVD, who not only supported his unit with high-precision fire, but also went on the offensive himself. Now, no one in their right mind would go on an assault with an SVD. The main purpose of snipers in modern combat is to cut off approaching enemy reserves and destroy machine gun positions, ATGM crews and automatic grenade launchers.
Narrow range weapons
An indirect confirmation of the above can be considered the almost complete absence of the SVD in photo and video chronicles from the Russian and Ukrainian sides. If in the first year the rifle still flickered, then later heavy anti-material units and long-range "bolts" came to the fore. The natural increase in the combat distance in the conditions of a frozen front brought to the fore more accurate weapons with a greater effective range. It is no coincidence that the SVD substitute - the Chukavin sniper rifle with a passport range of 1200 meters (similar to the Dragunov rifle) allows you to work at 500-700 meters, which is more than the Dragunov product. Due to the higher accuracy of fire, first of all. But even the SVCh is very conditionally suitable for the conditions of the SVO. It is in this conventionality that there remains hope for the use of semi-automatic rifles for their intended purpose. Niches for them still remain.
Urban battles in Ukraine have given way to trench warfare, but there is still a lot of residential development ahead, including multi-story buildings. The combat contact distances in such conditions are inevitably reduced, which means that dense sniper fire at 200-300 meters will be in demand. Only the SVD and Chukavin rifle can provide it. But will there be worthy targets for these weapons if the Ukrainian Armed Forces are hit with heavy ammunition? The question is rhetorical, but this is how the Russian Army is currently conducting an offensive - everything that can pose a threat is demolished with bombs, missiles and thermobaric ammunition. And then come the attack aircraft.
Another specific niche for using the Marksman rifle can be considered the fight against heavy drones. For example, with heavy agricultural UAVs converted to drop mines. "Baba Yaga" usually comes at night, and machine guns with thermal sights are used to defeat her. Not only machine gunners, but also snipers work very effectively against the slow-moving ash-heap. The self-loading SVD allows you to hit "Baba Yaga" at distant borders with the third or fourth shot. This function cannot be neglected, although it is very specific.
The ideological successor of the SVD - Chukavin's sniper rifle in a special operation
Some observers consider the experience of the special operation to be situational. They say that it cannot be extrapolated to all other theaters of military operations. Real and hypothetical. But there is one factor that has turned the picture of the battle upside down – the mass use of drones. That is why the contact line has become deserted, that is why the “gray zone” uncontrolled by either side has become so extended. In this picture, the place of close-combat sniper rifles has seriously narrowed. And so far there are no prerequisites that drones will give up their conquered place to someone else. On the contrary, there are all signs of expansion – in Latin America, an FPV drone recently shot down a police helicopter.
However, no one forbade forecasting and fantasizing. In the future, the SVD renaissance (if one can put it that way) is possible with the development of the current tactics of the Russian infantry. We are talking about the infiltration of small groups into the near rear of the Ukrainian Armed Forces through rare defense nodes. Under cover of fog at night, fighters make their way in pairs to a depth of 2-3 kilometers, where they gradually group into strike units. And here the marksman will be very useful - contact battles promise distances of a couple of hundred meters and even closer. And this is precisely the fiefdom of the SVD and SVCh.
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