Izhmash IZH-34M

     Notes: This is a weapon designed for use in rapid-fire shooting competitions.  It is made to very exacting tolerances and measurements, both to satisfy Olympic shooters and international standards.  The IZH-34M is a single-action pistol very similar in form to the Hammerli pistols of the same type, and large match stock with an adjustable hand rest.  The trigger is completely adjustable (weight, pull, angle, and distance from the back of the trigger guard).  The IZH-34M has a micrometer rear sight.  Like most pistols of its type, it is very heavy, but has the internationally agreed-upon standard magazine of 5 rounds.

     The IZH-25M is basically a larger version of the IZH-34M, firing a larger round.  Most of the features of the IZH-34M are duplicated in the IZH-35M; in addition, the IZH-35M has an automatic firing pin safety, and can take a larger magazine. 

Kalashnikov Kanareyka

     Notes: Perhaps one of the most unique special weapons in current use, the Kanareyka is called a “weapon complex” by the Russians.  The Kanareyka may have been in use since the late 1980s or early 1990s. 

     The Kanareyka consists of two weapons in one; the upper weapon is a heavily-modified silenced AKS-74U called the AKSB-74U.  The AKSB-74U has a barrel even shorter than the standard AKS-74U, and has a large silencer that extends the barrel as well as providing excellent silencing capabilities – one could be around the corner of a building from a shooter firing the AKSB-74U and not be able to easily figure out the origin of the shots (though he will hear them).  The AKSB-74U may fire standard ammunition or subsonic ammunition, on automatic or semiautomatic fire. 

     The lower part of the Kanareyka is the BS-1 silenced grenade launcher.  The BS-1 operates in a manner similar to ammunition such as the SP-4 – by a piston that contains the sound from the launching charge inside the grenade’s shell.  The launching charge is actuated by the firing of a special round that acts as sort of a primer.  This round is based on a drastically cut-down 7.62mm Nagant charge, and also contains the sound of its propellant charge inside a shortened, straight-cased cartridge with a piston inside.  The launching cartridges are contained within the pistol grip of the BS-1.  The launching cartridges are fed by a manually-operated bolt.  (Due to the design of the BS-1, the launching cartridges cannot be fired by themselves and used as a weapon.)

     The BS-1 itself is muzzle-loaded and fires a modification of the round fired by the AGS-17 and AGS-30 grenade launchers.  Both the AKSB-74U and the BS-1 are almost completely flashless; the BS-1 is a bit louder than the AKSB-74U, but not much louder than a .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire round.

MP-451

     Notes:  This Russian derringer was designed for undercover police as well as civilian self-defense.  In police use, it was normally carried by female officers wearing tight outfits, due to its small size.  Unlike most derringers, it has both a trigger safety and manual safety. 

     Twilight 2000 Notes: This weapon does not exist.

MSP Groza

     Notes:  This Russian silenced pistol is designed for clandestine work.  It is a small derringer-type weapon, with a tip-up barrel for reloading.  The rounds were designed for this weapon, based on the 7.62 Kalashnikov round, and use a small charge that powers a small piston inside the case.  This throws the round out of the weapon while containing the sound and flash of the round inside the case.  The firing of this pistol produces almost no noise. 

S-4M

     Notes:  In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, the Russians produced a number of silenced and suppressed weapons for use by their assassins and special operations units.  The S-4M was one of these; it is basically an improved model of the MSP Groza, using a smoother profile with longer barrels, both to accommodate the longer cartridges and to increase accuracy.  Also known as the PZAM, the S-4M’s ammunition is designed to further decrease the noise the weapon makes when fired; though it still produces what in game terms would be Class II noise, referees should use a little more bias towards the shooter when determining whether the sound is heard. 

TsKIB SOO OTs-38

     Notes: The OTs-38 is an integrally-silenced revolver chambered for the same SP-4 cartridge as used by the PSS.  The entire revolver is intended to be as compact as possible; the cylinder is directly over the trigger, and the abbreviated hammer directly behind the cylinder.  The barrel is actually at the bottom of the front of the revolver, and the lower chamber of the cylinder is the one that fires.  This also puts the firing axis almost directly in line with the wrist.  The cylinder reloading design is also unusual; the cylinder is attached to a bar in the center of the front piece, and swings out from there until at a 45-degree angle from the side of the revolver.  Spent cartridges are automatic ejected when the cylinder is swing open.  Above the barrel and cylinder hinge bar is a laser targeting device.  The OTs-38 has a manual safety, a passive safety that prevents the hammer and firing pin from falling unless the cylinder is completely closed, and another passive firing pin safety that prevent accidental when dropped or bumped.  The switch for the laser is on the frame behind the trigger guard.

TsNIITOCHMASH APS

     Notes: It is not known how long the APS has been in existence; it was revealed shortly after the end of the Cold War, but the Russians have given no details on how long their Naval Spetsnaz swimmers have been carrying them; they may have been in low-level production since the mid-1970s, and designed as early as the early 1970s, based on experience gained from the SPP-1 underwater pistol. It appears to have never been exported, and restricted to use by Naval Spetsnaz.

     The APS is a selective-fire underwater assault rifle based upon the Kalashnikov action.  It fires 120mm-long darts propelled by a sealed gunpowder cartridge that is based on the standard 5.45mm Kalashnikov case.  The construction is rather crude in appearance; the construction is of steel with a special finish which is very effective in resisting corrosion.  The APS fires from an open bolt, but the operating system and the cartridges are completely sealed against water.  A self-adjusting gas valve responds to pressure, allowing the APS to be used underwater as well as on land.  The APS has no handguard; the pistol grip is of plastic, and the stock is a sliding wire-type that is quite similar to that of the M-3 Grease Gun submachinegun.  A striking feature of the APS is its polymer magazines; they are stepped and very large, to handle the 120mm darts, plus their cartridges, plus a rather large and heavy follower spring.

     The lack of range of the APS is rather limited on land (as well as in the water), which is the primary complaint against it.  This problem is primarily due to the fact that the APS uses a smoothbore barrel, and that it cannot fire any sort of standard firearms ammunition. This led Tula, in the late 1990s, to develop a variant of the APS called the ASM-DT.  This version is for the most part an improved version of the APS, using the same operation.  The primary change is the magazines and magazine well; it accepts a modified form of the APS’s magazines, but by sealing part of the magazine well, it can also use AK-74-type magazines for use on land.  The dart used is also different; it is still 120mm long, but is hardened, 5.4mm in diameter, and somewhat faster than the 5.66mm MPS dart.  The barrel has special grooves leading from the chamber forward; when the first on-land shot is fired with standard 5.45mm Kalashnikov ammunition, any remaining water in the barrel and mechanism is forced out.  The 13.64-inch barrel is tipped with an AKS-74U-type muzzle brake.  This makes the AMS-DT a much more effective land assault rifle, though underwater it performs roughly on par with the APS.  The ASM-DT is in very limited production.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: The Naval personnel and port workers of most of Russia’s enemies felt the sting of the APS at some point during the Twilight War.  US Navy SEALs and similar NATO forces placed a high priority on capturing these weapons and their ammunition intact when confronting Naval Spetsnaz armed with the APS.  SEAL armorers at Coronado quickly managed to reverse-engineer the APS, producing an almost exact copy, which was designated the Mk 37 Mod 0 Underwater Assault Rifle, more commonly known as the “Frogman Stinger.”  The ASM-DT does not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

     Merc 2000 Notes: Though the Russians did not intend this, the design for the APS eventually leaked out onto the international market, and by 1999, it was one of the most in-demand special operations weapons around.  Most of the money from those sales did not make it back into Russian hands, however.

TsNIITOCHMASH PSS

     Notes: The PSS was a part of a number of silenced-weapon projects developed under the Russian military program called “Val” (the same program that resulted in weapons such as the AS assault rifle and VSS sniper rifle).  The PSS is a silenced automatic pistol that achieves noise suppression by a novel feature – the secret is in the ammunition and not the pistol itself.  The ammunition, based on a radically cut-down 7.62mm Kalashnikov round, uses a propellant-actuated plunger inside the case, trapping the sound of the propellant inside the case; in addition, the round itself is subsonic.  Therefore, no large and clumsy silencer is necessary.  Though supposedly not as efficient at noise suppression as a standard silenced pistol, it does have the virtue of allowing a more powerful round to be used.  In addition, there is no more than trace residue from powder and gasses after firing. Due to the special ammunition, the rifling twist is much faster than a standard pistol of its caliber would be; in fact, the forward part of the cartridge case is also rifled.

     The PSS is regarded as unusually well-crafted for a Soviet firearm of the period (the PSS is believed to have been introduced in 1983). They were manufactured with no other markings other than a serial number. The PSS is still in use by some Russian antiterrorist units. The barrel is made in two parts; the end of the barrel is fixed to the frame, but the breech portion recoils slightly upon each shot, helping to reduce bolt clatter. The PSS has a slide lock to eliminate bolt clatter if extra quiet is necessary.

TsNIITOCHMACH/Tula SPP-1 Underwater Pistol

     Notes: A companion to the APS assault rifle, the SPP-1 is similar in concept to the Heckler & Koch P-11, being a pistol firing drag-stabilized darts and designed for optimum use underwater.  Soviet Naval Spetsnaz began using the SPP-1 in 1971, though its existence was not generally known in the West until the 1980s. The pistol consists of four smoothbore chambers attached to a firing unit, and breaks open for loading and reloading.  The rounds themselves are long, needle-like cartridges fired by a small waterproof propellant charge; for each pull of the trigger, one is fired, and the barrels fire in a clockwise pattern beginning at the top right (the pistol has one striker, which rotates on each pull of the trigger).  When the SPP-1 is broken open for reloading, the spent propellant cases are automatically ejected.  Though the darts are quite stable underwater, they are quite unstable in air, and tend to begin tumbling rather quickly.

     The SPP-1M is a modified version that began use in 1979.  The SPP-1M is virtually identical for game use, but has an enlarged trigger guard and a safety switch (the SPP-1 has no safety of any kind).

Tula NRS Scouting Knife

     Notes:  The handle of this knife contains a single chamber and short barrel, into which is loaded an SP-3 cartridge.  This firearm is as quiet as the PSS.  The muzzle of the pistol is at the end of the knife handle, and when used the knife is reversed in the hand and fired by pressure on a trigger bar located in the handle.  Reloading is accomplished by removing the firing mechanism and loading the exposed barrel.  Though the flash and crack of the propellant are suppressed, and there is no muzzle flash, there is a small possibly that the hot barrel will burn the shooter when it is fired.  A notch in the crosspiece acts as a sight.  The NRS gas no safety; when the firing mechanism is not cocked, the firing barrel cannot be fired.  The NRS can otherwise be used as a standard knife, though it is poorly balanced for throwing, even with the firing mechanism removed. The knife portion can cut steel bars up to 10mm in diameter, barbed wire, and is insulated to permit the cutting of electrical cables.  It can also be used as a screwdriver.  The knife blade pivots when not in use, with the blade folding behind the firing mechanism; however, it is a folding blade and does not spring out like a switchblade.  A scabbard is also issued for the NRS.  The firing unit includes storage for two more rounds of ammunition.

     The NRS-2 improved version was first issued in 1986; the primary change was a rechambering for the SP-4 cartridge.  The NRS-2 has a cocking lever, a safety, and a release lever that springs the blade open, but the blade design itself is considered out of date by the troops that use the NRS-2.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: Possession of this knife was considered quite a prize by US, NATO, Chinese, and South Korean troops.