The Dragunov sniper rifle (formally Russian: Снайперская винтовка Драгунова, Snayperskaya Vintovka Dragunova (SVD), literally "Dragunov's sniper rifle") is a semi-automatic sniper rifle/designated marksman rifle chambered in 7.62×54mmR and developed in the Soviet Union.
The Dragunov was designed as a squad support weapon since, according to Soviet and Soviet-derived military doctrines, the long-range engagement ability was lost to ordinary troops when submachine guns and assault rifles (which are optimized for close-range and medium-range, rapid-fire combat) were adopted. For that reason, it was originally named "Полуавтоматическая винтовка Драгунова" Dragunov's Semi-automatic Rifle.
In Project Reality, the SVD Dragunov appears as a marksman rifle for the Russian Armed Forces, Hamas, Taliban, Insurgents, and Militia.
Variants
- Black Synthetic
- Used by Russian Armed Forces
- Wooden Finish
- Used by Militia , Hamas , Taliban , and Insurgents
Trivia
- The wooden finish Dragunov is incorrectly depicted with a wooden version of the synthetic stock instead of the distinctive wooden stock used by the real weapon.
- It should be notice that despite it's appearance, the SVD has little in common with the AK rifles.