Is a “heavy” sniper needed in modern warfare
Source: www.19fortyfive.com
Chasing the distance
Sniper sniper strife. It’s worth starting with the most massive class of infantry sniper rifles, which are also called Marksman rifles in a Western manner. Most often, these are self-loading rifles designed to work at short and medium distances. At weapons in comparison with an automatic rifle, greater accuracy of fire and cartridge power. The so-called machine gun-rifle ammunition 7,62x54R and 7,62x51 are used.
In the Soviet Union, and later in Russia, the main sniper rifle of the motorized infantry was and is the SVD. The weapon allows a standard cartridge to confidently hit targets at a distance of no more than 300-400 meters, which is quite acceptable for modern combat conditions. The support of a pair of trained snipers can hold back the advance of an enemy company. Training a successful "Marxman" does not require large investments and takes no more than six months.
There is no need for the SVD operator in complex instruments like weather stations, rangefinders, tripods and spotting scopes. From military high-tech, a sniper only needs a good scope with a thermal imager. No one will dispute the value of such specialists on the battlefield. The more combined arms snipers in the troops, the better. If we take combined arms combat as an example, then only an infantry sniper and a machine gunner are capable of conducting aimed fire at a distance of up to 300-400 meters. Machine gunners at such a distance can only disturb the enemy.
Source: www.wpristav.su
If the shooter needs to work at long distances, for example, up to a kilometer, then the "Marksman" is powerless here. More precisely, shooting is possible, but only to suppress manpower, and not guaranteed defeat. The problem is in the very concept of self-loading, when the moving parts of the weapon affect the accuracy of the shot. Here expensive bolt-action rifles are needed, and the sniper team already consists of at least two people. Cartridges are usually 7,62x67mm (.300 Winchester Magnum) or 8,6x70mm (.338 Lapua Magnum). A typical example is the Russian ORSIS T-5000 and SV-98.
This weapon has a lot of additional equipment that increases the accuracy of shooting. Training a good sniper pair takes a lot of time up to several years. All this inevitably leads to an increase in the cost of one shot. But more often than not, snipers work on high-priority targets, which more than justify their mission. Especially in police operations, when the accuracy of the shot is of particular importance. In army conditions, such weapons require careful attitude - after all, they developed rifles not under the impression of AK.
Found their place in modern warfare and the so-called anti-material rifles. The weapon gained fame due to the American self-loading Barrett. With accuracy, everything is not very good here, but the power of the 12,7 × 99 mm cartridge (.50 BMG) more than covers this shortcoming. Therefore, the weapon is called anti-material - at a distance of 800 meters or more, you can only get out of it into an armored personnel carrier.
However, with absolutely unknown consequences - for a full-fledged defeat, it is required to conduct concentrated fire with several rifles at once. And this, in turn, is compensated by one "Cliff" or DShK. As a last resort, light anti-tank systems.
As a result, anti-material rifles are used mainly to work on enemy manpower at quite “Marksman” distances. The main argument is that the 12,7 mm caliber ensures guaranteed death of the target even in the heaviest body armor.
ATGM or bullet?
The time has come for a rather controversial weapon on the battlefield - long-range and ultra-long-range sniper rifles.
In Russia, the most famous and, perhaps, the only manufacturer of such products is Lobaev Arms. The famous line of DXL-3 "Retribution", DXL-4M "Sevastopol", DXL-5 "Ravager" and the technological pinnacle of SVLK-14S "Dusk" ensure the defeat of the enemy at a distance of up to 2-800 meters. Outstanding results of outstanding weapons, no doubt.
It is reported that "heavy" snipers of the 155th Guards Marine Corps Brigade of the Pacific fleet. Let's try to imagine what is necessary for firing from such rifles even at a distance of 1–500 meters.
First of all, a very well trained pair of sniper and spotter is required. It will not be possible to master masterful shooting from the "Ravager" or "Sevastopol" in half a year of intensive practice - it takes a year, or even two. Such valuable players on the battlefield need protection. At least one infantryman with a machine gun should control the near field while the snipers look for a target. There are already three people.
All sniper belongings, consisting of a rangefinder, a weather station, a tripod, spotting scopes, a spare barrel, a tablet, and other things, must somehow be moved around the fields. For example, the DXL-4M Sevastopol alone weighs more than nine kilograms. The reconnaissance operator is also credited to the sniper crew drone - at a distance of one and a half to two kilometers it is not easy to find a target from the ground.
The total cost of the entire set of "heavy" sniper can be 3-4 million rubles! All this is started only to hit one, maximum two targets, after which the whole team has to change their location. Otherwise they will arrive Drones, followed by mortars and tank shells.
The best ultra-long-range sniper rifle. Source: militaryarms.ru
To clarify, this scenario is being considered for the use of Lobaev Arms weapons for their intended purpose, that is, shooting at long and ultra-long distances. If from the "golden" rifles on targets up to 800 meters, then the complex infrastructure is completely redundant. A well-trained sniper will cope with such a task without assistants.
But then why make a fuss at all, if there are much cheaper, albeit less perfect rifles. For example, the ORSIS T-5000 and SV-98 mentioned above, and there are many products of this class in the Lobaev Arms line.
Do the military have effective means for high-precision destruction of targets at a distance of 2-3 km?
First of all, ATGM. For example, the Kornet missile system, which requires only two people to count. This, of course, is a very optimistic assessment - for mobility, the gun requires three fighters. Still, it is very difficult for two fighters to move a 30-kilogram transport and launch container and missiles.
But there is also a compact Metis, whose mass does not exceed 14 kilograms. SVLK-14S "Twilight" without a functional body kit pulls 9,7 kilograms. Further, the ATGM outperforms the "heavy" rifles just one way. It is incomparably easier to train an operator of a guided anti-tank missile; a couple of months of practice is enough. The cost of firing a rocket is, of course, higher than that of any rifle, but the effect on the target is completely different. Thermobaric ammunition is able to raise enemy fortifications into the air, and send any movable object for a long time for repairs. The universality of the ATGM is also hidden here. If an enemy tank is in sight, it may well be neutralized, or even destroyed.
What is the answer for the tank to the calculation of the "heavy" sniper rifle? Perhaps only one - the hope that the snipers will not be noticed. The enemy is very well saturated with thermal imaging devices, which seriously reduces the ability to disguise even the most skilled and experienced shooters.
With a firing range, ATGMs also have an advantage. The heavy and conditionally mobile "Cornet" can go to the target for more than five kilometers, which allows the calculation not to go to the forefront. "Metis" is more modest - only a couple of kilometers to the target. But, we repeat, the probability of hitting is incomparably higher than that of the most advanced rifle. To be fair, Lobaev Arms produces a wide range of sniper rifles with an effective range of up to 1–200 meters. These wonderful products are already used in the NWO and have proven themselves well.
The main thing in military work is balance. It is this quality that has always distinguished Russian weapons. The search for the most optimal rifle capable of performing a wide range of combat missions is a matter of the near future. Perhaps it is the Lobaev "Counters", "SMERSH", "Dominators" and "Stalingrads" that are close to this, like no other. But until this moment, it is more efficient to work with guided weapons for remote, but very important targets. And best of all, a good old artillery raid, so that there are no targets for snipers at all.
Information