Posted on 03/07/2008 9:27:50 AM PST by Stoat
It is the latest weapon on the front line against the Taliban - the British Army's most powerful-ever sniper rifle, capable of killing with pinpoint accuracy from more than a mile away.
Yesterday the Army showed off its new Long Range Rifle, which has just entered service with combat units in Afghanistan to replace smaller and less powerful weapons.
The £11million upgrade programme is part of a "renaissance" of the sniper tradition - which during the Cold War was largely relegated to the sidelines - as modern commanders rediscover the huge value of pinpoint fire from sharpshooters.
Scroll down for more...
The new weapon, the L115A3, fires a heavier bullet to much longer ranges and has a state-of-the-art telescopic sight with twice the magnifying power of the old version.
More than 500 are on order from the British manufacturers, Accuracy International.
Since British forces moved into Helmand Province two years ago to take on the Taliban, demand for snipers has soared and 120 a year are now passing through the specialist training school at Warminster in Wiltshire.
One said: "It's a huge step forward. I'll be using the new rifle in Afghanistan this summer.
"It's a little heavier to carry, but the extra power is worth it. The improved telescopic sight can cut through the heat haze, which was preventing us from spotting targets at longer ranges."
Sniping is proving a hugely-important tactic in Afghanistan, where the difficulty of fighting among maze-like compounds and thick vegetation necessitates attacking the enemy at long range.
The controversy over so-called "collateral damage" from devastating airstrikes killing innocent civilians adds to the advantages of a pinpoint attack.
A senior officer at the Weapons Support School in Warminster said: "With the new rifle we now expect to be able to engage a target at 1,500 metres. With the old version it was about 1,000 metres.
"That makes a massive difference. You can keep the enemy at arm's length with snipers. Or you can have several of them firing simultaneously.
"It is devastating for an enemy's morale if a number of their fighters are suddenly shot at the same instant, and they can't even see where the firing is coming from. They tend to withdraw fast."
Training an infantryman to become a sniper can take up to a year, and only the most talented soldiers are allowed even to start the demanding courses.
First a candidate must master the technical aspects of shooting, learning to judge the strength of the wind extremely accurately using a variety of clues, and to adjust aim accordingly.
Just as importantly a sniper must learn to track his prey, move into position with extreme stealth, camouflage himself perfectly whether in natural cover or a battle-scarred city, and then disappear just as stealthily.
The senior officer said: "There is a long waiting list. Battalions are desperate to send soldiers here for training, and every soldier wants to be a sniper.
"They're held in extremely high regard. This new rifle will make them even more effective."
i don’t usually use bags. but i figure if i can hit golfballs from 200yards off a bipod, i’m doing pretty good.
CheyTac® 408 Intervention™ Rifle System
Holder of the WORLD'S RECORD BEST GROUP AT DISTANCE
Three Shots,16-5/8 Inches: 2,321 Yards
For Immediate Release: July 30, 2004
New World Record Group Shot At 2,321 Yards CheyTac® M-200 in 408 CheyTac®
Arco ID — July 13, 2004, A USMC Sniper team today has set a new world record for smallest group size at distance. At a measured range of 2,321 yards the team fired a three-shot group measuring 16-5/8 inches. This feat was accomplished with a CheyTac® M-200, using the 419 gr. 408 CheyTac® bullet. The shot was taken from a prone tactical position, shot off of uneven ground. Ranging was accomplished with a Vector Laser Range Finder, environmental data was collected with a Kestrel hand held weather station, and slant angle was measured with a Suunto wrist computer.
All of the data was entered into a CheyTac® Advanced Ballistic Computer™ which provided the precise firing solution to the team.
The ABC™ is the military big brother of the CABC™, Civilian Advanced Ballistic Computer™, now available for hunters and target shooters from CheyTac®.
The shoot was conducted at the CheyTac® training facility located in the region of Arco, Idaho. Reported wind during the record setting shoot ranged from 10-15 MPH.
“This is an amazing accomplishment,” stated a CheyTac® company official, “as the record was set with a tactical arm and under tactical conditions. This is 80-lb. bench gun accuracy, but fired from a tactical prone position on the side of a mountain in wind.
Needless to say we are very pleased.” Cheytac® Associates, LLC, produces advanced ammunition, small arms, and ballistic computer systems for the Military, Law Enforcement and Civilian markets.
CheyTac® Associates is an American owned and operated company with its headquarters in Arco, Idaho.
Learn more about the 408 CheyTac® cartridge and the M-200 sniper System at: http://www.cheytac.com
The sub-headline says 1500 meters, so...
Thats a Scary Bullet!
1609.344
Here's a collection of CheyTac videos.
Nice, how long until it’s available in the States?
I can see this being a huge Christmas item if the 2008 election gets ugly.
Makes sense. Great morale-killer too.
Cool!! Hadn’t found the video site.
Arco is about 2-hours from where I live...I’m going to drop in next time I go through Arco.
Who knows, maybe they’ll invite me to go out and “plink”.
Which is actually also slightly less than a mile.
/nitpick off
You’re probably doing better than I am. If I can get the rifle stable on its own I’m good. But I’m so shaky after multiple back problems that even a bipod is marginal for me... :(
According to the Accuracy International website, their exclusive USA retail distributor is Tac Pro Shooting Center
|
It seems that the answer to your question may be as close as your telephone :-)
I can see this being a huge Christmas item if the 2008 election gets ugly.
Indeed. If America goes Socialist in 2008 then all bets are off.....
Makes sense. Great morale-killer too.
I'm guessing that Achmed will lose what little bowel control he may have had when his buddy Mohammed's head explodes as they are scurrying about among the Afghani rocks, and he hears a very, very distant bang several seconds later.......
I imagine it's a might easier to hump than the Big Fifties. It seems to be more of anti personnel weapon, while the .50 is more of an anti material weapon. We use .300 Win Mag for the longer range anti personnel role, but of course the .50 works for that too. Oh boy does it ever.
I'm delighted that you are finding it worthwhile :-)
After watching a few of those I've come to the inescapable conclusion that I really need to expand my personal weapons inventory and spend quite a bit more time outdoors :-)
Arco is about 2-hours from where I live...
Lucky you! I rode my bicycle through the Arco area when I was 16....it was a blast! Craters of the Moon National Monument was one overnight campsite for my group, and the name fits the area well.....desolate, forbidding, but magical and captivating nonetheless. Idaho is such a wonderful State, with far more sane people than what I'm accustomed to here in western Washington.. "sigh"
I’m going to drop in next time I go through Arco.
Who knows, maybe they’ll invite me to go out and “plink”.
Their representatives seem very friendly in the videos :-)
It might actually be skunks. They dig up yards.
I solved the problem and caught several coons and a possum while hoping for the skunk. I did finally catch one skunk and solved the digging problem.
My wife has/had a beautiful moss garden and the skunks destroyed it.
Go to Harbor Freight and but the $29.95 live trap and some cat food.
That's "max effective Range", meaning the range at which one could expect a well trained shooter to hit a man sized target. However the maximum range that the bullet can reach, and cause damage should it hit anything is much longer. So yes a .22 can reach a mile or mile and a half, but this thing should reach much farther, but you could not do any more than harassing or "ranging" fire. With an automatic weapon, that can still be quite effective, but with low capacity bolt or semiautomatic it would be no more than harassment.
I’ve actually seen the raccoons digging several times, and even nailed them with a pellet gun a couple of times. But I am getting the trap, too.
That has been around the community for at least 14 years.......many different platforms, same caliber.
Maybe they have perfected it. I use a .338 lapua mag Dakota Long Bow for my long range sod poodle eradication missions .........:o)
.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
