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.
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.
| It fires an 8.59 mm bullet, so it's not a .50 cal, but heavier than the 7.62 mm used previously by the Brits. |
"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."
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