Introduction

The 9A91 is a modern sub machine gun of Russian origin. It was developed in the early 1990's as a compact weapon with superior short range firepower. Also, it was intended as cheaper than AS Val and SR-3 Vikhr. The VSK-94 is a short range suppressed sniper rifle based on the 9A91.

Design

The 9A91 is gas operated weapon with long stroke gas piston and rotating bolt. It is a steel weapon with the pistol grip and forearm made of polymer. A sliding fire selector lever is located on the right and bracket for mounting optics can be found on right. A long suppressor can be added on all but the earliest models. The metal shoulder stock can be folded over the receiver, making the 9A91 even more compact than the SR-3M.

Firepower

The 9A91 fires the 9x39mm subsonic ammunition from a 20 round magazine. This round is very effective at short range. The magazine is not compatible with AS Val and VSS. The cyclic rate of fire is 700 to 900 rpm, proving difficult to control. The maximum effective range is about 200 meters with optics. The practical range is about 100 meters.

Users

The 9A91 is used mostly by law enforcement units in Russia and in several nations that have close ties with Russia. Although cheaper and more compact, the 9A91 is seen as less capable than the similar SR-3M Vikhr.

The 9A91 is very compact sub machine gun that fires the powerful 9x39mm round. It is easily identified by its small size, large steel magazine and slim polymer forearm. There are no real variants other than the VSK-94 sniper rifle.

The production model was updated several times. The earliest production model had no scope bracket, a left side mounted rotating fire selector and featured an AKM style muzzle device. Around 1995 the improved production model was introduced. This introduced the receiver mounted scope bracket, sliding fire selector and a threaded muzzle that can accept a suppressor. A few years later the slimline two piece handguard was replaced by a larger ribbed handguard.