Russia Developing Sniper Rifle with 7 KM Range

A Russian arms manufacturer has announced the development of a sniper rifle combined with a new cartridge that can hit targets at up to 7 kilometer range.

Development work has started on the DXL-5 sniper rifle, whose maximum range of seven kilometers will make it unique among sniper weapons, Vladislav Lobaev,  general director of the weapon developer, Lobaev Arms,  told Ria Novosti.

At the moment, the most long-range rifle "Dusk" (also produced by Lobaev Arms) can hit targets at a distance of 2.5 kilometers “with confident shooting and 4.2 - with record shooting,” he said.

“Now we are working on a rifle and cartridge with a maximum range of six to seven kilometers and confident shooting of three kilometers. The preliminary name of the project is DXL-5, our products such as DXL-4 "Sevastopol" and DXL-3 "Retribution" belong to this family. There were no rifles with such range in the world market of sniper weapons yet,” RIA Novosti quoted Lobaev as saying.

According to the general director, the rifle will receive a new cartridge, in which several technological breakthrough will be incorporated so that it will be possible to fire at such a great distance. It will be distinguished by its large size and initial speed, in contrast to the bullets used earlier, he said.

The head of Lobaev Arms expressed the hope that the DXL-5 will be ready early next year. “I would not want to disclose details on the caliber and other informaton,” the Director General added.

At a range of 3-7 KM, the standard optical sight may be challenged and may need to be replaced/supplemented by an electro-optical or collimator sight that can calculate the range and azimuth needed to guide the bullet to the target.

A Russian enterprise has recently announced the development of collimator sight that can do the calculations and give precise information for the shooter. The collimator sight allows the sniper to see an illuminated aiming point aligned with the rifle the sight is attached to, regardless of eye position.