Munitions / Small arms / 9x39mm Soviet
9x39mm Soviet
General Facts
- TYPE
Rifle cartridge - ORIGIN
USSR - NICKNAMES
7N8 (SP-5 in Russian service)
7N9 (SP-6 in Russian service)
7N12 (PAB-9 in Russian service) - DESIGNED
1980's - DESIGNER
TsNIITochMash - PRODUCTION
1980's - present - PRODUCERS
Russia - Klimovsk special ammunition factory
Russia - Tula Cartridge Plant - QUANTITY
Unknown - UNIT COST
Unknown - CHARACTERISTICS
Subsonic by design
Good lethality
Armour penetration capabilities
Good accuracy for subsonic round
Large and heavy
Limited range for rifle cartridge
Expensive
Strong recoil
Introduction
The 9x39mm Soviet is a late Cold War era rifle cartridge of Soviet design. It was developed in the 1980's for use in suppressed weapons. The new 5.45x39mm round that was standardized for Soviet service was far too small to develop a subsonic round.
Design
The 9x39mm round is based on the case of the 7.63x39mm Soviet round, but is necked up to accept a larger diametar and twice as heavy bullet. The bullet weight helps to increase kinetic energy since all 9x39mm rounds are subsonic by design. The two most common bullet types are a general purpose round of similar design as the 5.45x39mm Soviet and a bullet with steel core for increased armour penetration.
Weapon systems
The 9x39mm round is used in the widely used AS Val assault rifle and VSS Vintorez sniper rifle. Other weapon systems include the OTS-14 Groza bullpup assault rifle and 9A91, SR-3 Vikhr and AK-9 sub machine guns. All these weapon systems feature an integral suppressor or are commonly used with a detachable suppressor.
Performance
The 9x39mm round has decent performance. For a subsonic round its accuracy, lethality and range are good. The armour piercing round is able to penetrate 2 mm steel at 500 meters, and 8 mm at 100 meters. The felt recoil is slightly higher than the 7.62x39mm round. The maximum effective range of this round is about 500 meters. Practical range lies between 100 and 400 meters, depending on the weapon that is used.
Users
The 9x39mm round is a rather uncommon round that is only in used by Russian law enforcement and military special units. The use of this round is increasing. Recent conflicts demonstrated the effectiveness of these heavy subsonic rounds. Export sales are also increasing, as is the number of platforms this round is used in.
9x39mm Soviet
SP-5: General purpose round developed for accuravy. Features a small air cavity in the nose, as found in 5.45x39mm rounds.
SP-6: Armour piercing round with hardened steel core. Able to penetrate helmets and heavy Kevlar body armour out to at least 200 meters.
PAB-9: Low cost general purpose round that proved to be ineffective. While far cheaper than SP-5 and SP-6, it has poor accuracy and causes heavy wear on the weapon.
SPP: New sniper round with an increased penetration.
BP: New armour piercing round.
- Specifications:
- 9x39mm SP-5
- 9x39mm SP-6
- 9x39mm PAB-9
Type | FMJ |
---|---|
Design | Mild steel core within lead body |
Color | Brown lacquered steel case, red case mouth |
Total length | 56 mm |
Total weight | 23 g |
Bullet diameter | 9.25 mm |
Bullet length | ? |
---|---|
Bullet weight | 16.1 g |
Velocity | 280 - 320 m/s at muzzle |
Penetration | Class 1 and 2 body armor |
Precision | ? |
Case type | Bottlenecked, tapered, rimless, centerfire |
Case length | 38.76 mm |
---|---|
Case diameter | 10.36 mm shoulder, 11.35 mm rim |
Propellant | 0.5 g |
Pressure | ? |
Remarks | Subsonic |
Type | AP |
---|---|
Design | Hardened steel penetrator within lead body |
Color | Brown lacquered steel case, red case mouth, black tip |
Total length | 56 mm |
Total weight | 23 g |
Bullet diameter | 9.26 mm |
Bullet length | ? |
---|---|
Bullet weight | 16.2 g |
Velocity | 280 - 320 m/s at muzzle |
Penetration | 8 mm steel at 100 m, 6 mm steel or 2.8mm titatium or 30 layers of kevlar at 200 m, 2 mm steel at 500 m |
Precision | ? |
Case type | Bottlenecked, tapered, rimless, centerfire |
Case length | 38.78 mm |
---|---|
Case diameter | 10.36 mm shoulder, 11.35 mm rim |
Propellant | 0.6 g |
Pressure | ? |
Remarks | Subsonic |
Type | AP |
---|---|
Design | Hardened steel core within lead body |
Color | Brown lacquered steel case, red case mouth, black tip |
Total length | 56 mm |
Total weight | 23 g |
Bullet diameter | ? |
Bullet length | ? |
---|---|
Bullet weight | 17 g |
Velocity | 310 m/s at muzzle |
Penetration | up to 10 mm steel at 10 m |
Precision | ? |
Case type | Bottlenecked, tapered, rimless, centerfire |
Case length | ? |
---|---|
Case diameter | 10.36 mm shoulder, 11.35 mm rim |
Propellant | ? |
Pressure | ? |
Remarks | Subsonic |