PSL

The PSL has seen more combat in more conflicts than perhaps any other designated marksman rifle, thanks to Romania's prolific arms export policies during and after the Cold War. Despite being technically inferior to the genuine Dragunov SVD it superficially resembles, the PSL's combination of adequate accuracy, simple maintenance, and extremely low cost made it the de facto sniper rifle of irregular forces and developing-world militaries across the Middle East and Africa. During the Iraq War, US forces encountered PSLs far more frequently than genuine SVDs, leading to the persistent misidentification of the type as a 'Dragunov' in media reporting.

Despite the widespread 'Romanian Dragunov' nickname, the PSL shares no parts or design lineage with the actual Dragunov SVD. The PSL's operating system is a long-stroke gas piston derived from the RPK light machine gun, itself an enlarged AKM. This means the PSL's bolt carrier group, trigger mechanism, and gas system are fundamentally different from the SVD. The PSL was widely exported to Middle Eastern and African nations, and large quantities were captured by US forces in Iraq. The rifle has been produced in 7.62x51mm NATO chambering for export customers. The LPS TIP2 scope is a Romanian-designed optic similar in concept but not identical to the Soviet PSO-1. The PSL is significantly less expensive to produce than a genuine SVD, which contributed to its widespread adoption.