PATRIOT PARK /Moscow Region/, August 18. /TASS/. The High-Precision Systems holding company (part of Rostec) has presented its latest product - the Astarta 12.7-millimeter sniper rifle - at the Army-2023 forum.
Earlier, the holding company said that Astarta met all modern ergonomic requirements and had the necessary adjustments for the shooter's anthropometric data.
Astarta’s tactical and technical characteristics are superior to those of the 12.7-millimeter OSV-96 sniper rifle.
The Astarta rifle has demonstrated unique accuracy during tests, Vitaly Bulgakov, the deputy managing director of KBP JSC (part of Rostec's High-Precision Systems) told the media on the sidelines of the Army-2023 forum.
"During our first tests this rifle showed groups of five shots that hit a tiny area of 1.5 square centimeters. From a distance of 100 meters. This is unique. The bullet’s caliber is 12.7 millimeters. In other words, it’s like all bullets flew into one tiny hole. One after another."
Bulgakov stressed that Astarta was many times more accurate than the US Barrett rifle.
"The rifle is semi-automatic, but at the same time it boasts high accuracy. The Barrett rifle showed an average shot grouping of 6 centimeters. That is, we have surpassed the Americans many times over," he stated.
Special task units will be the first to get the Astarta rifle. We are focused on specialists, the troops do not need it en masse," Bulgakov said.
There are plans for producing about a thousand of these rifles. The 12.7-millimeter caliber is large enough to hit armored targets, as well as infantry in shelters.
The Army-2023 International Military-Technical Forum is being held at the Patriot Congress and Exhibition Center, the Alabino training ground and the Kubinka airfield outside Moscow on August 14-20. Over 60 countries have confirmed the participation of their official military delegations in the forum.
The forum’s scientific and business program includes over 300 events focusing on the development of Russia’s armed forces and its defense industry and international military-technical cooperation, taking into account present-day realities. Access to the forum and events under the scientific and business program was reserved for industry specialists and foreign delegations on August 15-17. The event is open to the general public on August 18-20. The Defense Ministry is the forum’s organizer and TASS its strategic media partner.