OTs-23 Drotik

TsKIB SOO · Pistol · Limited Production · 1996

Also known as: OC-23 Drotik, OTs-23, Drotik, SBZ

Overview

The OTs-23 Drotik is a Russian select-fire machine pistol developed at the TsKIB SOO design bureau in Tula during the early to mid-1990s. Chambered in the small-caliber, high-velocity 5.45x18mm MPTs cartridge, it operates on a blowback action with a longitudinally sliding barrel and an integral muzzle compensator to manage recoil during burst fire. The Drotik offers semi-automatic and three-round burst modes, feeds from a 24-round magazine, and was conceived as a more controllable alternative to the Stechkin APS for Russian internal security units.

Specifications

Weight (empty)860 g (30.3 oz)
Overall Length195 mm (7.68")
Barrel Length125 mm (4.92")
Height135 mm (5.31")
Width32 mm (1.26")
Action TypeBlowback
Firing MechanismHammer Fired
Trigger TypeDouble Action
Magazine Capacity24 rounds
Magazine TypeDetachable Box
Muzzle Velocity320 m/s (1050 fps)
Muzzle Energy128 J (94 ft·lbf)
Effective Range50 m (55 yd)
Rate of Fire1800 rpm
Barrel RiflingRight Hand
Frame MaterialSteel
Slide MaterialSteel
Barrel MaterialSteel
FinishBlued

Calibers

Features

Service history

Operators

Production

Production years: 1996-present

Produced in limited numbers for Russian law enforcement and internal security services

Origin

Country of origin: Russia

Designer: Igor Stechkin, A. V. Baltser, A. V. Zinchenko

Notes

The sliding-barrel system and gas-vent compensator reduce muzzle climb and let the action operate at a very high cyclic rate while keeping the three-round burst on target. Produced only in small numbers.

Background

The Drotik (Russian for 'dart' or 'javelin') is also nicknamed SBZ after the initials of its three designers (Stechkin, Baltser and Zinchenko) at the TsKIB SOO sporting and hunting weapons bureau. Igor Stechkin, who decades earlier had created the APS automatic pistol, sought to give the machine-pistol concept the controllability it had always lacked.