The International Military-Technical Forum ARMY-2018 recently wrapped up in Kubinka Town in Moscow, and there were quite a few “new” Civilian-versions of popular Russian military firearms announced there. At the same event, yet another Russian manufacturer, TsKIB SOO of Tula, said that it would soon release civilian versions of at least two of its military weapons, the PP-2000 SMG and the OSV-96 .50-caliber sniper rifle. Designated as the OTs-126, the civilian-version PP-2000 does bear some visual similarities to its military predecessor, but it can’t fire the PP-2000’s powerful armor-piercing 7N31 armor-piercing round; instead, this civilian clone is chambered in 9x19mm Luger and is semiauto-only. As of this writing, the OTs-126 is being passed through the requisite legal certification process before being allowed for sale to civilians.

As can be plainly seen in the images, the OTs-126 has an entirely different upper receiver that features quad rails, a longer barrel and what appears to be a charging handle similar to the H&K G36. The rear portion appears to offer compatibility with AR-15 style stocks, doing away with the conventional-looking wire stock of the PP-2000. The OTs-126 would have no resemblance to its military cousin were it not for its lower receiver.

As for the civilian-version of the OSV-96 sniper rifle, CEO of TsKIB SOO Aleksey Sorkin stated that it is currently still in the development stage. A civilian cartridge will be developed for the rifle, as the OSV-96’s 12.7x108mm chambering will certainly not be allowed for sale to the civilian market. Sorkin claims that his company believes that there is a market for such a weapon, such as for long-range hunting and for personal defense against predators in far-off work sites like mines, pipelines and geological prospecting sites. Seeing how other Russian companies have made civilian-version sniper rifles with a different cartridge, it will be interesting to see how TsKIB SOO’s civilian-version OSV-96 will turn out.