Features of the Training of Freelance Sniper Groups in the Educational Organization of the Ministry of Internal Affairs

Udilov Timofei Vasil'evich ORCID: 0000-0001-9824-3032 PhD in Technical Science Associate Professor, Head of Research, Editorial and Publishing Department, East Siberian Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia 664074, Russia, Irkutsk region, Irkutsk, Lermontov str., 110 udilov_nauka@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Vinokurov Vitalii Nikolaevich Senior Lecturer at the Department of Technosphere Security of the State Agriculture University of North Transurals 329314@mail.ru 329314@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Over the past two decades, active activity of opposition groups against the current state power and political system has been observed on the territory of the former USSR countries, using the resources of extremist organizations and revolutionary-minded youth associations. As a rule, such events were accompanied by mass protests, numerous facts of violations of public order and public security, not infrequently, terrorist activities of individuals and organizations.

The most striking examples of such phenomena are coups d'etat and "color revolutions" accompanied by mass riots and civilian deaths: Georgia (2003), Ukraine (2004), Kyrgyzstan (2005), Kyrgyzstan (2010), Ukraine (2013-2014), Armenia (2018), the Republic of Belarus (2020).

In Russia, in the period 2011-2013, attempts were also made to organize mass protest political actions, which, including thanks to the coordinated actions of law enforcement services, did without victims of the population (the rally on Bolotnaya Square, the "March of Millions" 2012 and 2013, etc.). Analysis of such mass actions shows that extremist and terrorist organizations are mobilizing young people and student associations, opposition-minded parts of the population.

Regarding the prevention of the organization and conduct of such events, as well as the implementation of measures to prevent the organization of mass riots, manifestations of a terrorist and extremist nature, the internal affairs bodies of the Russian Federation monitor the constant readiness to use in their activities a variety of weapons, including sniper weapons. This is relevant in the context of special operations (events), the implementation of priority measures to repel an armed attack on buildings, premises, structures of the internal affairs bodies of the Russian Federation, as well as the protection of employees of the internal affairs bodies of the Russian Federation or other persons from encroachments if these encroachments involve violence dangerous to life or health.

In accordance with the requirements of the Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation No. 516 dated July 6, 2021 "On freelance sniper groups of the Internal Affairs Bodies of the Russian Federation" in order to increase the effectiveness of the use of sniper weapons by employees of the internal affairs bodies of the Russian Federation when repelling an armed attack on buildings, premises, structures of the internal affairs bodies of the Russian Federation, to protect employees or other persons from encroachments, if these encroachments involve violence that is dangerous to life or health, in the territorial bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia at the district, interregional, regional and district levels, in the FKU "Gtsakhito of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Russia" creates freelance sniper groups from among police officers.

The special relevance of the formation of freelance sniper groups in the units of the territorial internal affairs bodies of the Russian Federation was also emphasized by the speech of the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin on February 24, 2022 on the decision to conduct a special military operation on the territory of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic. The specifics of professional service tasks and special events in these territories required employees of internal affairs units to have special special knowledge, including in relation to fire training.

To improve the effectiveness of training of employees of the internal affairs bodies of the Russian Federation included in the freelance sniper groups, the developed GURLS are directed to the use of sniper weapons Ministry of Internal Affairs Educational programs of professional training of employees in Russia, providing for the study of the legal foundations of the use of freelance sniper groups in emergency situations and the basics of special operations (events), security measures when handling weapons and ammunition, the study of the basics of ballistics, the device and combat properties of sniper rifles, optical sights, techniques and rules of shooting sniper weapons with optical sights, the tactical basics of sniper action, including in a populated area and open terrain, the basics of first aid.

Various representatives of the scientific and pedagogical community of educational organizations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia have been studying the methodology of theoretical and practical training of a sniper of the internal affairs bodies of the Russian Federation at different times ^[1-5]. At the same time, the development of military science, the peculiarities of special events in modern conditions, the emergence of new types of weapons and ammunition require constant updating of the special knowledge of employees included in freelance sniper groups.

In this article, based on the analysis of techniques and methods of training personnel in the use of sniper weapons, measures are proposed aimed at improving the effectiveness of training employees of the internal affairs bodies of the Russian Federation to perform tasks in special conditions of service.

The relevance of the proposed measures is due to the realities of the operational situation in the subjects of the Russian Federation located in the zone of a special military operation in recent years.

The experience of implementing educational programs of professional training of employees of freelance sniper groups in educational organizations has allowed us to identify a number of problems and ways to solve them.

1. Improvement of material and technical support for the implementation of training programs for freelance sniper groups

Updating of educational programs for the training of employees of internal affairs bodies included in freelance sniper groups, improving methods and educational technologies requires solving issues of material and technical equipment of educational organizations involved in their implementation.

So, for example, in view of the absence of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in educational organizations Russia has specialized shooting ranges for practicing shooting exercises with sniper weapons at distances of 100, 150, 300, 400 m, cooperation is being carried out with the Ministry of Defense of Russia and Rosgvaridia to conduct joint exercises and practical shooting at shooting ranges and ranges of military units, including with the development of shooting skills from foreign-made weapons. At the same time, joint practical training to improve the skills of working with sniper weapons is objectively not enough. It is possible that the organization of departmental shooting ranges, taking into account transport accessibility and the location of educational organizations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, will solve the problem of the shortage of practical shooting from combat hand-held small arms with employees of the territorial bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and persons undergoing training in educational organizations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.

When implementing educational programs for professional training of sniper groups, persons sent for training arrive at educational organizations with fixed weapons. In the educational organization, the device of specific sniper rifles and sights is additionally studied, weapons are brought to normal combat, techniques and rules of shooting with these weapons are practiced. At the same time, in our opinion, the organization of the supply of educational organizations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in sufficient quantity to conduct classes in training groups with modern sniper weapons, including SVD, SVD-S, SV-98, TRG-22, MC-116M, IED, VSS, VSK, will increase the effectiveness of the implementation of such educational programs-94, 12.7-mm V-94, OSV-96, VKS 12.7-mm, ASVK "Cord", 9mm VSK-94, 9mm VSS "Vintorez" and others.

Algorithms of interaction with the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defense, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters, including representatives of disaster medicine centers, have been developed and applied to study and practice first aid skills for wounds, bleeding, and injuries. At the same time, the involvement of representatives of related ministries in conducting these practical classes is carried out by educational organizations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Russia independently. Perhaps the organization of such interaction on a systematic basis at the level of the Central Office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and heads of ministries and departments would significantly increase the effectiveness of attracting relevant specialists to conduct training sessions.

2. Updating the content of the educational programs for the training of freelance sniper groups

The experience of conducting a special operation on the territory of the subjects of the Russian Federation (Donetsk People's Republic, Luhansk People's Republic, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions), as well as criminal encroachments on infrastructure and residential facilities of the Belgorod, Kursk, Oryol regions have shown that unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are actively used when attacked by members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) various designs and purposes.

In order to counter the use of enemy UAVs in relation to objects of the Russian Federation, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have developed a number of measures, including training and testing by snipers of the skills of using large-caliber sniper rifles against aerial targets (helicopters, UAVs). The large-caliber sniper complex ASVK, for example, during training shows the greatest effectiveness when shooting at air targets at a distance of more than one kilometer. Based on the experience of modern armed conflicts, this distance is considered optimal for neutralizing reconnaissance UAVs and helicopters of a conditional enemy, which try not to enter the affected area from effective small arms fire in defensive combat ^[6].

In addition, the Ministry of Defense of Russia, Rosgvaridiya and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia are actively studying the effectiveness of the use of reconnaissance UAVs by sniper pairs, which make it possible to find, identify and monitor targets at a distance of several kilometers ^[7].

Thus, we consider it necessary to include in the training programs of employees of freelance sniper groups topics related to the study of the effective and safe use of sniper weapons against UAVs, as well as the classification, functionality and tactical and technical characteristics of robotic complexes, unmanned aircraft systems (unmanned aircraft, UAVs) of domestic and foreign production, including those used on the territory of a special military operation.

In addition, an integral element of the sniper's work is taking into account external factors that affect the accuracy of shooting, and making appropriate amendments. The world practice of using ballistic calculators (special software tools) shows that these software tools significantly accelerate the process of making a sniper decision on the choice of sight settings and determining corrections.

In this regard, we consider it appropriate to include in the educational programs of professional training of sniper groups topics aimed at studying modern software products (ballistic calculators), including for mobile devices, as well as developing skills to work with such information products.

Thus, the organization of training of employees of the territorial bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, included in the freelance sniper groups, on the basis of educational organizations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Taking into account the proposed recommendations on improving the material and technical support of educational organizations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and updating the content of educational programs, it will increase the effectiveness of training police officers to perform operational and service tasks, including in cases of involvement in service in special conditions.