Specifications Caliber ........................................................................7.62mm Cartridge.....................................................................7.62x53R Weapon weight w/optical sight and magazine w/o rds.............................................4.68 kg Rifle length: w/unfolded stock, w/o bayonet .............................1,135 mm w/folded stock ..........................................................875 mm Barrel length ............................................................565 mm Bullet muzzle velocity...............................................810 m/sec Effective rate of fire..................................................30 rds/min Sighting range w/optical sight..........................................................1,300 m w/iron sight...............................................................1,200 m Magazine capacity...................................................10 rds
The SVD-S ("folded", 6V3) sniper rifle version was adopted for service in 1995. The traditional fixed stock was substituted for a plastic pistol grip with a light folded to the left stock with a plastic shoulder rest, unremoved "cheek" and a tube to hold it with the left hand. As is the case with the SVD rifle a rubber butt plate of the stock is not adjusted. The gas-exhausting unit is improved and there are changes in the design of a flash suppressor.
The walls of a barrel are thicker and that automatically led to the decrease of its overheating and fluctuations during the firing. The hardening of the receiver led to the stability of the optical sight mounting. The PSO-1M2 is the main sight. The plastic barrel hand guards are similar to those of the SVD rifle. The SVD-S sniper rifle is designed, first of all, for the air borne sub-unites.
The SVD sniper rifle with minor design changes is still operational with the armies of more than six foreign countries. Its copy-versions were produced in Romania, China, and Iraq.
