Ukraine: SBU sniper with world record

According to information provided by the “Ukraine Now” channel on Telegram, a sharpshooter belonging to the “Alpha” special unit of the Security Service of Ukraine broke the world record for the longest accurate shot at human force, eliminating the Russian occupier 3,800 meters away. For this feat, he was to use the Ukrainian large-calibre sniper rifle Volodar Obriju (Ukrainian: “Lord of the Horizon”), powered by unusual 12.7 x 114 mm ammunition. The SBU press service confirmed this information to the editorial office of the American “Newsweek”.

The previous record was held by an unnamed sharpshooter from the Canadian special unit JTF-2 (Joint Task Force 2). During the Iraq War, this soldier reached a target 3,540 m away with the help of a McMillan TAC-50 rifle (called C15 Long Range Sniper Weapon in Canadian service). Unlike the above-mentioned Ukrainian design, the American rifle fires the classic 12.7 x 99 mm NATO (.50 Browning Machine Gun) cartridge, the first version of which was developed at the end of World War I.

This is not the first time a Ukrainian sharpshooter has been included in the list of the longest shots on target. A year ago, an anonymous member of the National Guard of Ukraine eliminated the Russian occupier from a distance of 2,710 m with a 14.5 mm bullet fired from a Snipex Alligator rifle. Thanks to this, the Guard officer took third place (today fourth) on the list of documented distance shooting records.

The Volodar Obriju large-caliber sniper rifle, which is more commonly known under the English trade name Horizon’s Lord, was publicly presented at the Zbroja te Bezpeka (Ukrainian for “Arms and Security)” trade fair in 2021 in Kiev. Developed in the Kiev Mayak design office (a subsidiary of Ukroboronprom), the weapon with a four-stroke, sliding-rotary lock is available in single-shot and repeating variants, fed from a box magazine. Depending on the version, it can be up to 1,820 mm long (with the stock extended) and weigh up to 17 kg. According to the manufacturer’s information, the rifle can be fed with various types of ammunition:

• 12.7 x 99 mm NATO (or .50 BMG, originally created for the Browning anti-aircraft machine gun);
• 12.7 x 108 mm (known from the DSzK and NSW wkm);
• 12.7 x 114 mm (developed in the Majak office for the Volodar Obriju kbw);
• 14.5 x 114 mm (fired by PTRS and PTRD anti-tank rifles and KPW WKM);
• 23 x 115 mm (developed for aircraft automatic cannons in the 1940s).

According to available information, the “record” weapon was powered by a 12.7 x 114 mm cartridge developed in Ukraine. This ammunition is characterized by a high muzzle velocity of the bullet (approximately 15% higher than the comparable 12.7 x 99 mm), accuracy and high effective range, and at the same time it generates a significantly lower (up to 40%) recoil force than the 14.5 x cartridge. 114mm.

In this way, a more effective cartridge for a sniper rifle than the classic “half-inch” was obtained, using components available on the commercial market (as well as in Ukraine and its Western partners): primers and various types of bullets up to 12.7 x 99 mm and cases for 14.5 x 114 mm. The manufacturer specifies the effective range at 2,500 m, although a projectile fired from a 1,000 mm long barrel moves at supersonic speed (which at a temperature of 0° C is 332 m/s) until it reaches 2,700 m.