A hypersonic bullet for an army sniper rifle is being developed in Russia

By TOC On Jun 30, 2020

MOSCOW, (BM) – The ultra-long-range sniper rifle developed by Russian gunsmiths has already been nicknamed “hypersonic”, learned BulgarianMilitary.com citing Regnum and RG news agencies.

The company Lobaev Arms has already managed to glorify its name with its rifles with very serious characteristics. For example, a sniper rifle DXL-4M “Sevastopol”, striking a target at a distance of more than 2 kilometers.

But the product, which is presented as the DXL-5, can overturn all the usual ideas about the capabilities of small arms. Indeed, in order to confidently hit targets at a distance of 3 or more kilometers, an initial bullet speed of more than 5 speeds of sound, or more than 5 Machs, is needed.

Thus, a bullet from a new rifle Vladislav Lobaev will fly out at a truly hypersonic speed.

More about the idea of “hypersonic bullet” and whether there is “life” in the idea

The designer of small arms Vladislav Lobaev spoke about the creation of a special cartridge for sniper rifles that can fly at hypersonic speed. According to him, the team he leads is working on a rifle bullet with an initial speed of 2000 m / s. Such a bullet will accurately hit targets, including armored ones, at a distance of over 6 kilometers.

It should be noted right away that Vladislav Lobaev is a private entrepreneur. At one time, he founded the company Tsar Cannon, Design Bureau of Integrated Systems and created the brand LOBAEV Arms.

He is Russia’s first private manufacturer of precision weapons, from the barrel to the butt. On his account there are a lot of really interesting sniper systems, including the ultra-long-range rifle SLVK-14C “Twilight” noted by experts – one of the best in its class. Lobaev’s design rifles are used by snipers of the most elite special services in the world. So you can trust this person.

Nevertheless, the creation of a bullet flying out of a rifle barrel at hypersonic speed is a daunting task. And Lobaev understands this.

According to him, an absolute physical limit has now been reached in the external ballistics of rifled weapons. The speed of bullets of the most powerful rifles does not exceed 1200 m / s. Therefore, to create a bullet with an initial speed of 2000 m / s – almost six times the speed of sound, you can only develop a fundamentally new shooting system.

Everything should be new. And the shape of the barrel, and all the usual rifle mechanics, and the shape of the bullet, and the materials from which the complex will be created. Existing types of gunpowder, purely theoretically, can provide acceleration of a bullet up to 2000 m / s, but, according to experts, it is better to develop their new formulation. One option is the addition of RDX.

Or, in general, the creation of a gas-dynamic weapon, in which a bullet is dispersed by specially selected gas mixtures burning at cosmic speeds.

Most likely, again, according to experts-gunsmiths, a hypersonic bullet can be sub-caliber. But there will be a problem with its stability when flying over long distances. Back in the USSR, experiments were conducted with sub-caliber bullets for the Kalashnikov assault rifle. Very high initial speeds were obtained, but the bullets were unstable and scattered within unacceptable limits – there was no talk of any sniper accuracy.

There is another negative feature of obtaining super speeds in the barrel. Due to the increasing pressure of the combustion products – gunpowder or gas mixtures – accelerated barrel wear begins. So there is a difficult choice, known since ancient times – whether the game is worth the candle.

Nevertheless, if Vladislav Lobaev set about creating a fundamentally new rifle complex using hypersonic bullets on his own, and if he solves this problem, it’s an honor and praise, since Russia in small arms will make a breakthrough similar to that achieved in hypersonic rocket science.

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Editorial team