SVU (OTs-03) is a self-loading bullpup sniper rifle developed by TsKIB SOO based on the SVD.
The development of a shortened sniper rifle based on the SVD, intended for the airborne troops of the USSR, began at TsKIB SOO in 1977. In 1979, demonstration samples of the SVU rifle designed by L.V. Bondarev were offered to the Airborne Forces, but then they did not come to their production. In 1991, serial production of IEDs began, the first serial rifles entered service with the 106th Guards Airborne Division (where they passed military tests).
In the early 1990s, the rifle was offered to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs as a sniper weapon for urban conditions. The Ministry of Internal Affairs adopted the IED, and also required the development of a variant with the possibility of firing in bursts.