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The Central Scientific Research Institute for Precision Mechanical Engineering (TsNIITochMash), headquartered in the Russian town of Klimovsk, is one of the many entities related to the ROSTEC group that engage in the development, manufacturing and marketing of small arms. At the 2014 edition of the EUROSATORY expo in Paris - nord Villepinte, TsNIITochMash has been showcasing its entire individual weapon system, composed of three elements − a semi-automatic pistol, a sub-machinegun and an assault carbine − chambered for peculiar high-penetration rounds providing superior performance against armored targets.
The SR1MP is a semi-automatic, locked-breech, blowback-operated, tilting-barrel pistol using a Walther/Beretta-type tilting block; its roots date back to the Grach program launched in the 1990s for the selection of a new service pistol for the Russian Armed Forces, and has since been developed independently and adopted by the Russian FSB (Federal Security Service) as the Serdyukov SPS. Built around a railed, reinforced polyammide frame, the SR1MP sports a solid steel slide with front and rear slide serrations which can be replaced by a full slide/barrel group that will only allow the use of marking ammunition for force-on-force training. The SR1MP comes with no manual safety − using a trigger safety and a grip safety instead − and the double-stack magazine hosts up to 18 rounds of 9x21mm Gyurza ammunition.
This specific caliber employs a 103-grains bullet featuring a steel core, protruding from the nose to form a penetrator, contained within a standard copper jacket and both bonded to, and separated from, it by a polyethylene layer. When the gun is fired, the bullet is propelled at 410 metres per second, with energy levels well above the 560 Joules threshold, which is more than enough to penetrate a 4mm steel layer at 100 metres and still retain stopping power against soft targets behind it.
The SR2MP sub-machinegun was conceived as a companion to the SR1MP pistol, and shares its 9x21mm Gyurza chambering, feeding from detachable double-stack 20-rounds or 30-rounds magazines. Sporting a reinforced polyammide pistol grip, railed forend and folding foregrip, the SR2MP sub-machinegun is mostly manufactured out of stamped steel, and is long-stroke piston operated, with a rotating bolt head; quite a solid and unusual way to build a sub-machinegun, but necessary for it to withstand the high impulse levels of the 9x21mm chambering. The SR2MP sub-machinegun also sports an upfolding metal sheet stock, which is cut in the middle to allow the use of optical devices even when it's closed in place; independently from it, the SR2MP can be fit with an accessory angled wire metal stock that will allow comfortable use even by operators wearing combat helmets and visors.
Last, the SR3MP assault carbine is loosely based upon the Kalashnikov long-stroke piston system, is manufactured out of steel stampings with synthetic furniture, and feeds through a detachable synthetic magazine. The stock can be folded or replaced with the above-mentioned, helmet-ready wire metal stock; this model is also fit with Picatinny rails for optics and tactical accessories, as well as with a folding foregrip, and can be used with a proprietary sound suppressor. Its powerful 9x39mm chambering is loosely based on the 7.62x39mm M43 caliber, but sports a heavier ball (usually 259 grains, but several variants exist: standard FMJ, armor piercing, fragmentation, "Sniper", and so on), which is usually subsonic, providing excellent noise signature reduction capabilities at 400 metres or so. At a 100-metres range, the 9x39mm round will penetrate an 8mm-thick steel layer and will take down any soft target behind it.
