MOSCOW, November 27. /TASS/. The Kalashnikov Group gunmaker plans to launch the production of a new SVCh sniper rifle next year, Group CEO Dmitry Tarasov said on Wednesday.

"Today it is very important to timely start the production of items. For example, last year, Izhmash [part of the Kalashnikov Group] timely launched the production of AK-12 assault rifles. Next year, this will, indeed, be the SVCh for the 7.62 x 54 mm round while the Lebedev handgun is already in serial production," the Kalashnikov Media quoted him as saying.

The Chukovin semi-automatic sniper rifle (abbreviated as the SVCh in Russian) has been developed for the 7.62 x 54 mm and 7.62 x 51 mm rounds (the latter is also known as the .308 Win cartridge). In its 7.62 x 54 mm caliber, the SVCh is compatible with the magazines from the SVD (Dragunov sniper rifle).

The Kalashnikov Group, the maker of the renowned AK-47 assault rifle, is Russia’s major producer of combat automatic and sniper guns, guided artillery shells and a broad range of precision weapons.