Iranian snipers adopt Russia's Orsis rifle with NATO ammo
Iranian Revolutionary Guards have been spotted with new sniper rifles, identified as Orsis T-5000M rifles, intriguingly powered by NATO ammunition. We explain why and detail their performance.
Photos of the new weapon were published during Iranian military exercises codenamed "Great Prophet-19." The Orsis T-5000M rifles were not only shown to the media but also actively used by Iranian sniper teams for long-range shooting in mountainous areas.
It seems Iran has decided to enhance its snipers with new weapons significantly. The current norm includes SWD rifles, local variants of the American M40, and other locally designed models. The calibre is unknown, but references to a range of 1.4 kilometres, a larger muzzle brake, and barrel thickness suggest that it may use the 8.6x70 mm / .338 Lapua Magnum cartridge.
Orsis T-5000M rifles: Russian precision based on NATO expertise
In recent decades, the Russians have primarily halted the development of their own sniper rifles and ammunition. For example, the available 7.62x54 mm R calibre ammunition falls considerably short compared to the 7.62x51 mm NATO calibre used for sniper and target shooting. Coupled with poorly produced locally produced ammunition, a few small Russian private companies decided to design weapons based on NATO calibres.
This group includes companies like Lobaev Arms and ORSIS. Initially producing rifles for hunting or sport shooting, the outbreak of war also led to an influx of government clients.
The Orsis T-5000M rifle is a modification of the T-5000 version first shown in 2011. Structurally, it's a straightforward bolt-action rifle (requiring manual reloading after each shot) adapted to use 7.62x51 mm NATO / .308 Winchester or 8.6x70 mm / .338 Lapua Magnum ammunition. Even the world's best bulletproof vest cannot protect against the latter, as the muzzle energy of the fired projectile exceeds 6,000 joules.
The rifle’s weight for the larger cartridge is about 6.4 kilograms with a barrel length of 70 centimetres. This results in the weapon's length exceeding 119 centimetres, but thanks to a foldable stock with adjustable length and cheek pad height, it can be shortened by about 20 centimetres during transport. The Russians claimed to achieve precision at the level of even 0.5 MOA (minute of angle), which at a distance of, for example, 100 metres translates to a grouping size of less than 1.5 centimetres or 10 centimetres at 700 metres. This performance is comparable to the world’s leading precision firearms.
It’s worth noting that the General Director of the ORSIS plant, Alexey Sorokin, boasted before the full-scale war in Ukraine that all parts of the rifle, except for the barrel, were made in Russia. However, the most essential part of the weapon was produced from imported steel, specifically from the USA, which most likely is no longer the case due to sanctions.
