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.
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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 know what I want for Christmas.
Nice, but Carlos Hathcock did the same with a 50 cal. in Vietnam.
Effective range: 1100m plus
Perhaps you aren’t supposed to shoot at targets closer than 1100 meters?
Mmmmm.... I think this baby would take care of the raccoon problem I have in my backyard. Fr@c%in’ little buggers are ripping the crud out of my new lawn.
One of my favorite scenes in Hathcock's book is where he is describing shooting at Viet Cong across a valley. He said it was always easy to pick out the leader because they were so obviously subservient and obedient to them. He then went on to say that they would scatter like mice when the leaders head exploded, followed several seconds later by the report, they were completely unable to tell where it came from.....
This rifle weighs 15 pounds. That .50BMG weighed how much?
bttt
**WARNING - GRAPHIC**
I have the same problem. Still raccoon season for me, but unfortunately I’m also inside city limits so can’t shoot em :(. Besides that my wife apparently thinks they are cute...
Have Santa click on the "How to purchase an Accuracy rifle" button :-)
reach out and touch someone.
This appears to be the .338 Lapua cartrige with a decent scope/stock/magazine combination.
Sounds like good, clean fun.
Always wondered what happened to the lead singer from Twisted Sister...
Before commenting further, how many meters in a mile?
I notice the Taleban don’t worry about collateral damage, so why should we?
I read a field report that if you just hang a small piece of bacon in front of the muzzel that developing a new model is not needed. It auto senses any sect of “muzzie”. I think Brits came up with this from reading their history books from the late 1800 and early 1900’s.
awesome. 2 British Pounds/bullet! Wow, that’s almost $4 USD.
seem low to me also as there are warnings of one mile with regular 22 bullets.
1440 +/-
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