The AS Val (Russian: Aвтомат Специальный Вал or Avtomat Special'nyj Val, English: Automatic Special Shaft) is an integrally suppressed assault rifle designed by TsNIITochMash in the late 1980s as a specialized weapon for Russian special forces. Given the operations that Russian special forces carried out, a more powerful, suppressed and shorter ranged weapon was required.
Initially, the weapon was based on the Kalashnikov design and does retain some similar controls as AK rifles, such as having the charging handle located on the right-hand side and the ability to use the AK (and SVU's) universal side mount for various optical attachments. It is fitted with an integral suppressor and is chambered in the 9×39mm subsonic ammunition.