By: Warren Gray
Copyright © 2023
“An experimental weapon, with experimental
ammunition…Let’s experiment.”
— British actor Alan Rickman,
Quigley Down Under, 1990.
At high noon on November 18, 2023, 58-year-old Vyacheslav Kovalskiy, a Ukrainian sniper assigned to the Sluzhba Bezpeky Ukrainy (Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU) Special Group “Alpha,” an elite, special operations, or SpetsNaz, unit, broke the existing world record for the longest confirmed sniper kill in history, at a mind-boggling 3,800 meters (2.36 miles!) near Kherson, Ukraine. The previous record was held by a Canadian JTF2 counterterrorist unit sniper in Iraq, at 3,540 meters (2.2 miles) in May 2017, with a McMillan TAC-50A1 (C15A1 in Canadian service) rifle.
The SBU press office announced on November 19, 2023, that, “The SBU sniper set a world record. He hit a Russian soldier (an officer) from an incredible distance. SBU snipers are changing the rules of world sniping, demonstrating the ability to work effectively at fantastic distances.” The SBU added that the shot had broken the previous world record by approximately 260 meters (just over 850 feet).
The massive, six-foot-long sniper rifle that achieved this significant milestone was the Ukrainian-made, MAYAK Volodar Obriyu (“Horizon’s Lord”), bolt-action, single-shot, anti-matériel rifle, chambered in 12.7x114mm HL (the HL stands for Horizon’s Lord, indicating a unique and proprietary cartridge). This brand-new (since 2021) weapon was specifically developed due to a “need for an anti-matériel and sniper weapon system that would have a longer effective range and flatter trajectories than the rifles chambered in .50 BMG (12.7x99mm NATO).”
The new rifle was created due to a requirement for a long-range weapon capable of firing bullets with very flat trajectories. The traditional, Russian 14.5x114mm machine-gun cartridge was necked down to 12.7mm (.50-caliber), and therefore modified to launch smaller, narrower bullets at very high velocities, in this case at 3,280 feet per second, compared to 2,820 feet per second for a .50 BMG round. In these respects, it is truly an experimental rifle, firing custom-made, experimental ammunition. Only about 10 of these very special and unique rifles have been created thus far.
This results in a very flat-shooting, ultra-long-range weapon, with significant stopping power. The Horizon’s Lord rifle is nearly 72 inches long overall (60 inches with the stock folded), with a barrel length of 41.34 inches, using special, Bartlein barrels (of Jackson, Wisconsin), with a Japanese scope, and an overall weight of 34.17 pounds.
Video footage released by the SBU press office shows three Russian military personnel, one of whom was struck by the shot fired from the Horizon’s Lord rifle, after approximately nine seconds of bullet flight time. The speeding bullet struck the Russian officer in the chest, and he doubled over and went down immediately.
Three Russian artillery soldiers targeted by SBU sniper in November 2023. Photo credit: Telegram/Ukrbavovna
Horizon’s Lord world record-breaking shot scope view. Photo credit: BNN Network
“This rifle and its ammunition represent a unique national project. In many regards, it holds advantages over existing sniper rifles of this type,” stated Yuri Shramko, deputy of Ukrspetsexport, the company responsible for the rifle project, in 2022.
Previously, the Ukrainian-made, Snipex Alligator rifle in 14.5x114mm held the record for the world’s third-longest-range sniper kill in history at 2,710 meters (2,964 yards), or 1.68 miles, in November 2022, fired by a Ukrainian National Guard sniper from the “Omega” special forces unit.
As with most elite Ukrainian sniper teams, all of their shots are recorded electronically via video through the sophisticated, infrared sights of their long-range rifles, mostly at night, and the team continues to observe a fallen target for three to five hours to ensure that the Russian soldier is dead. After the primary target is eliminated, they also kill any other enemy troops in the vicinity.
Special Group Alpha, headquartered in Kyiv, was originally formed in March 1994, in response to Germany’s creation of their Grenzschutzgruppe 9 (GSG 9) special, counterterrorist group in September 1972. Their assigned roles include counterterrorism, special operations, direct action, hostage rescue, special reconnaissance, and military intelligence. SBU Alpha troops wear MultiCam uniforms in battle, and their preferred handguns include the Glock-17 and H&K USP9, both in 9x19mm.
Their combat carbines include the SIG Sauer MCX in 5.56x45mm or .300 BLK, and the Russian AKS-74U in 5.45x39mm. Preferred submachine guns are the H&K MP5 and the newer B&T MP9, both in 9x19mm, although the FN P90LV personal-defense weapon (PDW) in 5.7x28mm is also used.
Alpha’s sniper rifles include the Russian VSS Vintorez in 9x39mm, and in 7.62x51mm NATO, the Sako TRG-22, Blaser R93 Tactical 2, SIG SSG3000, B&T APR308, and Desert Tech SRS. Finally, they use the powerful Desert Tech HTI in .50 BMG, since 2020, and of course, the all-new Horizon’s Lord in 12.7x114mm HL.
The Horizon’s Lord rifle features a detachable barrel for changing calibers rapidly, and it can be changed to .416 Barrett, .460 Steyr, .50 BMG, or 12.7x108mm. Furthermore, with only a barrel change, the rifle can be converted to 14.5x114mm or 23x115mm. In 12.7x114mm HL chambering, it normally uses Hornady A-MAX 750-grain bullets with custom-made, American brass cases and primers. This superb sniper rifle achieves sub-MOA accuracy, and generates 30 percent less recoil than the Russian 14.5x114mm cartridge, while the streamlined bullet remains at supersonic velocity out as far as 3,000 meters (1.875 miles!).
Vyacheslav Kovalskiy and his spotter are not ordinary snipers. He has been winning long-distance shooting competitions in Europe and North America for decades, and first met his spotter at a shooting competition in Ukraine. He joined the SBU on the same day that Russia invaded his homeland.
This astounding, world-record sniper shot at an incredible 2.36 miles was made possible by Ukraine’s innovative and resourceful approach to combat weapons, pushing the very limits of what everyone else thought was possible with a .50-caliber rifle. These late-breaking developments in the Russo-Ukraine War continue to surprise firearms experts around the globe.
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Author with Barrett M82A1 sniper rifle, 1993. Photo by author