Lobaev Arms, a Russian producer of long-range high-precision rifles, has started to test a "hypersonic bullet" capable of piercing a target instantly and effectively. Hypersonic sniper rounds capable of reaching speeds of over 1,500 meters per second (m/s) are now being tested in Russia, Vladislav Lobaev, founder and head of the Lobaev Arms, a Russian private weapons manufacturer, has told RIA Novosti.
"Lobaev Arms has resumed development and has already begun testing potentially hypersonic munitions," Lobaev said.
He explained that the ammo is still called "potentially hypersonic," since today it travels "on the verge" of hypersonic speed.
"We can produce it in a nearly hypersonic version or actually go hypersonic. We will make this decision based on the test results, when the mass of the serial product is determined. Hyper sound starts at a speed of over 1,500 m/s (above 5 Mach), while a high-speed sniper bullet is a bullet flying at a speed of 900 m/s," the Russian gunsmith explained.
Lobaev first made headlines in September 2018, when he set a goal of developing small arms ammunition with a velocity of 2,000 m/s. He explained at the time that such rounds are needed for high-precision sniper weapons, which provide a higher range "grazing fire." Grazing fire is a term used in military science that means "fire approximately parallel to the ground." Lobaev noted that new ammo would no longer be filled with gunpowder, but with detonating chemicals of a special composition.
Why would a sniper need high-speed or hypersonic rounds? The crux of the matter is that snipers need to take into account a heap of external ballistics factors, such as range to the target, wind direction, wind velocity, altitude and elevation, and even air density and temperature to maximize accuracy. However, a high-speed or hypersonic bullet minimizes the impact of external factors and gives the target less time to evade destruction.
Poster Comment:
4921.26 feet per second. M16 is 3,140 fps