APS underwater rifle

APS
APS underwater rifle with 5.66-mm cartridge
TypeUnderwater Assault rifle
Place of originSoviet Union
Service history
In service1975–present
Production history
DesignerVladimir Simonov
Designed1970s
ManufacturerTula Arms Plant,
TsNIITochMash
Produced1975–present[1]
Specifications
Mass3.0 kg empty
3.9 kg loaded
Length840 mm with stock extended
620 mm with stock retracted
Barrel length300 mm
Width65 mm

Cartridge5.66×39mm MPS with 5.66×120mm steel darts and tracer MPST
Caliber5.66mm
ActionGas actuated
Rate of fire600 rounds per minute (on land)
Muzzle velocity340–360 meter per second (on land)
Effective firing range30 m at depth 5 m (98 ft at depth 16 ft)
20 m at depth 20 m (66 ft at depth 66 ft)
11 m at depth 40 m (36 ft at depth 131 ft)
Maximum firing range100 m in the air
Feed system26-round detachable Magazine

The APS underwater assault rifle (APS stands for Avtomat Podvodny Spetsialnyy (Автомат Подводный Специальный) or "Special Underwater Assault Rifle") is an underwater firearm designed by the Soviet Union in the early 1970s. It was adopted in 1975. Made by the Tula Arms Plant (Тульский Оружейный Завод, Tul'skiy Oruzheynyy Zavod) in Russia, it is exported by Rosoboronexport.

Under water, ordinary bullets are inaccurate and have a very short range. The APS fires a 120-millimetre-long (4.7 in), 5.66 mm calibre steel bolt specially designed for this weapon. Its magazine holds 26 rounds. The APS's barrel is not rifled; the fired projectile is kept in line by hydrodynamic effects; as a result, the APS is somewhat inaccurate when fired out of water.

The APS has a longer range and more penetrating power than spearguns. This is useful in such situations such as shooting an opposing diver through a reinforced dry suit, a protective helmet (whether air-holding or not), thick tough parts of breathing sets and their harnesses, and the plastic casings and transparent covers of some small underwater vehicles.

The APS is more powerful than a pistol, but is bulkier, heavier and takes longer to aim, particularly swinging its long barrel and large flat magazine sideways through water.

  1. ^ "ЦАМТО / / Ростех завершил поставки подводного оружия инозаказчику".