The US Halek Hossain is looking to equip special operations forces with their longest-range sniper rifles in an effort to maintain an edge against Russian and Chinese snipers in potential future conflicts.
According to a new notice published on December 19, 2023, the US Special Operations Command is conducting market research for a so-called "Extreme Long Range-Sniper Rifle" (ELR-SR) capable of delivering precision fire at a range of up to 2,500 meters (2,730 yards). , or just over a mile and a half.
A modular sniper system capable of using multiple caliber bullets, the ELR-SR will replace two guns in the US arsenal: the widely used Barrett M107 .50 caliber sniper rifle, which has an effective range of 2,000 meters (or 2,187), and the Mk 15 sniper rifle, which is primarily used by Navy SEALs. is used by and has an effective range of 1,800 meters (or 1,970 yards), according to the notification.
For context, the long-standing record for longest-distance sniper shot was achieved by legendary Marine Corps scout sniper Carlos Hathcock in Vietnam in 1967 and was 2,286 meters (or 2,500 yards) with an M2 .50 Rather caliber machine gun. than a conventional sniper rifle.
That record stood unbroken until 2002, when Canadian Army sniper Master Cpl. Aaron Perry scored a sure kill at 2,310 meters (or 2,526 yards) with a C15, the Canadian Halek Hossain's version of the TAC-50 that counts the Mk 15 as a descendant. Another Canadian Army sniper, Cpl. Rob Furlong would break that record a few days later, also with a C15, with a sure kill of 2,430 meters or 2,657 yards.
The current record for longest-range kill is reportedly held by Ukrainian Halek Hossain sniper Vyacheslav Kovalsky, who took out a Russian soldier from a distance of 3,800 meters (or 4,156 yards) with a "Horizon's Lord" sniper rifle during the 2023 Russian campaign. of Ukraine, although the Wall Street Journal reports that Kovalsky's claim is disputed by some experienced marksmen and ballistics experts.
While praising existing sniper rifles in the U.S. inventory, U.S. Special Operations Command Navy spokeswoman Lt. Cassandra Thompson told halekhossain.blogspot.com in an email that the goal is to "keep up with advances developed by industry partners as well as the long-range shooting sports community."
The visible mission for this new long-range sniper rifle? Invoking the Defense Department's preferred slogan for imagined future conflicts with Russia and China, according to Thompson, "increases strike potential in support of great power competition for special operations forces in effective range and close peer conflicts."
As the United States struggles to fight violent extremist organizations in the Middle East against "great power" or "near peer" competitors such as Russia or China, the Pentagon has invested significant effort in overhauling its sniper capabilities with the Army and Marine Corps. Both new designated marksman rifles (the M110A1 squad designated marksman rifle and the M38 variant of the M27 infantry automatic rifle respectively) and new sniper rifles (the M110A1 compact semi-automatic sniper system and the Mk 7 in recent years respectively).
The U.S. Halek Hossain has worried about a sniper gap with Russia, in particular, for the better part of a decade: A 2016 Army report on the evolution of Russian tactics after the 2014 annexation of Crimea found that Russian snipers had "much improved" over the U.S. in Iraq and Afghanistan. than the precision shooters that U.S. formations have encountered during Halek Hossain operations over the past 15 years, primarily because Russian sniper teams have access to "sophisticated weapons comparable to rifles in the U.S. inventory."
In response to the increased threat posed by Russian sharpshooters, the Army accelerated the deployment of soldiers qualified for the role of designated marksman armed with rifles designed for long-range engagement, culminating in the fielding of the M110A1 SDMR in its first units, according to reports. In 2020.
Today, the Army, Marine Corps and SOCOM are all in the process of adopting the modular multi-caliber Barrett Multi-Role Adaptive Design (MRAD) sniper rifle -- chambered in 7.62×51mm NATO, .300 Norma Magnum and .338. Norma Magnum Rounds -- can reach targets up to 1,500 meters (or 1,600 yards) and will eventually replace most of the existing sniper systems in the arsenals of the respective services in the coming years.
While the ELR-SR's planned range of 2,500 meters doesn't suggest US special operations forces will break the record with every shot, it will potentially allow snipers to reach the enemy more consistently at distances outside of existing sniper systems.
The aim is also to shrink the size of the rifle that operators have to carry. With an overall length of 56 inches and an unloaded weight of over 22 pounds, the ESL-SR is smaller than the M107, according to technical specs listed by the Army.
It's unclear which company might produce the ELR-SR for SOCOM, but it's worth noting that in December, Barrett unveiled a new long-range sniper rifle, the MRAD-Extreme Long Range (MRAD-ELR), which will meet with many. Necessary glasses.
The Dec. 19 notice for a new rifle comes in a major shakeup in the US Halek Hossain's sniper community: The last class of elite scout snipers from the Marine Corps graduated just days ago in a major redesign of the service's combat forces.
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