Ammo calibres for Russian Army rifles

Nice.

This brings up an interesting question that I started talking about on the AK-12 thread.

At the moment the Russians use a range of different calibres for different things but primarily for standard assault rifles they use the 5.45 x 39mm round which seems to do the job just fine, and the 7.62x54Rmm round from the 19th century which does the job but could do with replacement with something more modern that is used in designated marksman rifles and standard rifle calibre machine guns.

The round developed to replace the 7.62x54 include the custom designed 6x49mm round with a more aerodynamic bullet that reaches further and faster in a smaller lighter round that is more modern (rimless).

But there are other options... I think this Cheytac round is too much... it is a specialised round for very extended range engagements, but they are developing .338 lapua magnum type rounds for 1.5km range sniping which they are adapting to 9mm calibre for their own purposes... a cheap mass produced version could be adapted to be used in an SVD like rifle and a PKP type machine gun to replace the 7.62x54mm in Russian service and also extend the effective range of rifles and machine guns to 1.5km from the current 800m and 1,000m respectively.

This Lapua based ammo would not be lighter or much cheaper but would have longer effective range and be more effective against targets at closer ranges, while the 6x49mm is a smaller lighter round that could be carried in large volumes, extend shooting effective range to perhaps 1.2km with a better shaped more efficient bullet that reaches the target faster with less dispersion.

Personally I think the 6x49mm for the rifles and machine guns could make the rifles and machine guns slightly lighter and allow rather more ammo to be carried for a given weight, while the more exotic rounds like the Lapua based rounds and the Cheytac could be used by specialised snipers in special forces (VDV, Spetsnaz, Naval Infantry, FSB).

Ironically if a soldier wants to hit a man in a car at 10km he can just use a HE Frag warhead armed Kornet for the job.

But then the Russians have been talking about new fire arms based on new principles that will be part of Ratnik III coming out in 2025 so there is that as well.

Cheytak rounds were specially developed for counter-sniper activities and elimination of special targets, to use with SVLK-14S Sumrak or DXL-4 Sevastopol rifles, for example. Till now, those calibers were imported.

And the Lapua magnum rounds too, but the Russians ended up making their own Lapua rounds and clearly now their own Chaytac rounds too.

There were .300 Lapua rounds at 1.2km and .338 Lapua rounds at 1.5km effective ranges... it was the 338 Lapua rounds they were interested in, their metric designation being 8.6×70 mm, or 8.58 x 70mm, but they decided to change them to 9 x 70mm for some reason... perhaps further improving the ballistics of their own version of the rounds...

I suspect they will also adapt the Cheytac rounds to their own needs too before mass producing it and using it.

Western sanctions costing them money again... the old story... if you don't want to sell it we can just adapt the design and make it ourselves... your loss.