U.S. Special Operations Command has laid out requirements for a new bolt-action Extreme Long Range Sniper Rifle that could replace its existing .50 caliber precision rifles. American special operators currently use variants of the iconic Barrett semi automatic 50 caliber rifle and the less well-known bolt-action McMillan Mk 15 in the same caliber.
Special Operations Command's (SOCOM) Special Operations Forces Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics Center (SOF AT&L) first put out it's sources sought notice for the Extreme Long Range Sniper Rifle (ELR-SR) in December. An updated version with very minor changes was posted this week. The contracting announcement, which is currently just seeking information on possible new rifles from prospective vendors, includes a number of core requirements.
"The ELR-SR system is intended to replace legacy M107 and MK15 for anti-personnel and anti materiel targets," the notice explains. "The ELR-SR weapon system will have a precision fire capability of 2500m [approximately 2,734 yards]."
M107 is the current designation for the latest variants of the semi-automatic Barrett .50 caliber rifle currently in U.S. military service. Barrett Firearms developed the first version of this rifle in the 1980s, marketing it as the M82, a designation that the U.S. military subsequently also used. Various improvements were made to the core design over the years, but its general look has remained largely unchanged. These guns have become a gold standard for very large caliber long-range precision rifles for special operations forces and other military and security services around the world, as well as an absolute fixture in popular culture.
The M107 designation comes from a U.S. Army effort to acquire a bolt-action .50 caliber rifle, the Barrett M95. The service subsequently abandoned that plan and acquired improved semi-automatic M82A1M rifles instead, applying the M107 designation to them.
Mk 15 is the U.S. Navy's designation for bolt-action McMillan Firearms Tac-50 rifles, which were acquired primarily for SEAL snipers. Like the Barrett M82/M107, the baseline Tac-50-based design for the SEALs, or Mk 15 Mod 0, also dates back to the 1980s. The U.S. special operations community has since acquired improved examples of this rifle, known as Mk 15 Mod 1s, which are visibly distinct from their predecessors thanks to a new Cadex Dual Strike chassis system.
McMillan Tac-50 rifles are also in service elsewhere around the world, including with other special operations units. In 2017, Canadian media reported that a sniper with that country's elite Joint Task Force 2 (JTF 2) special operations unit had set a new record for the longest confirmed kill when they took out an ISIS terrorist in Iraq at a distance of some two miles using a C15 rifle (the Canadian armed forces designation for the Tac-50).
SOF AT&L expressly says it is now interested in a new bolt-action rifle with a maximum overall length of no more than 56 inches, and that is hopefully 50 inches long or shorter. The threshold for the rifle's maximum weight with an empty magazine is 22 pounds, but the objective target is no more than 18 pounds.
Even a 56-inch-long, 22-pound rifle would be shorter and lighter than the M107 (57 inches long and some 28 and a half pounds) and the Mk 15 (57 inches long and around 27 pounds). The desired 2,500-meter effective range for the ELR-SR is also greater than that of the M107 or Mk 15.
The ELR-SR should have a peak recoil energy of 25 pounds or less. SOCOM's goal would be to acquire a rifle that reduces felt recoil to as low a point as possible. Existing semi-automatic Barrett M82/M107 rifles notably have a recoiling barrel system to help reduce recoil.
www.thedrive.com
Special Operations Command's (SOCOM) Special Operations Forces Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics Center (SOF AT&L) first put out it's sources sought notice for the Extreme Long Range Sniper Rifle (ELR-SR) in December. An updated version with very minor changes was posted this week. The contracting announcement, which is currently just seeking information on possible new rifles from prospective vendors, includes a number of core requirements.
"The ELR-SR system is intended to replace legacy M107 and MK15 for anti-personnel and anti materiel targets," the notice explains. "The ELR-SR weapon system will have a precision fire capability of 2500m [approximately 2,734 yards]."
M107 is the current designation for the latest variants of the semi-automatic Barrett .50 caliber rifle currently in U.S. military service. Barrett Firearms developed the first version of this rifle in the 1980s, marketing it as the M82, a designation that the U.S. military subsequently also used. Various improvements were made to the core design over the years, but its general look has remained largely unchanged. These guns have become a gold standard for very large caliber long-range precision rifles for special operations forces and other military and security services around the world, as well as an absolute fixture in popular culture.
The M107 designation comes from a U.S. Army effort to acquire a bolt-action .50 caliber rifle, the Barrett M95. The service subsequently abandoned that plan and acquired improved semi-automatic M82A1M rifles instead, applying the M107 designation to them.
Mk 15 is the U.S. Navy's designation for bolt-action McMillan Firearms Tac-50 rifles, which were acquired primarily for SEAL snipers. Like the Barrett M82/M107, the baseline Tac-50-based design for the SEALs, or Mk 15 Mod 0, also dates back to the 1980s. The U.S. special operations community has since acquired improved examples of this rifle, known as Mk 15 Mod 1s, which are visibly distinct from their predecessors thanks to a new Cadex Dual Strike chassis system.
McMillan Tac-50 rifles are also in service elsewhere around the world, including with other special operations units. In 2017, Canadian media reported that a sniper with that country's elite Joint Task Force 2 (JTF 2) special operations unit had set a new record for the longest confirmed kill when they took out an ISIS terrorist in Iraq at a distance of some two miles using a C15 rifle (the Canadian armed forces designation for the Tac-50).
SOF AT&L expressly says it is now interested in a new bolt-action rifle with a maximum overall length of no more than 56 inches, and that is hopefully 50 inches long or shorter. The threshold for the rifle's maximum weight with an empty magazine is 22 pounds, but the objective target is no more than 18 pounds.
Even a 56-inch-long, 22-pound rifle would be shorter and lighter than the M107 (57 inches long and some 28 and a half pounds) and the Mk 15 (57 inches long and around 27 pounds). The desired 2,500-meter effective range for the ELR-SR is also greater than that of the M107 or Mk 15.
The ELR-SR should have a peak recoil energy of 25 pounds or less. SOCOM's goal would be to acquire a rifle that reduces felt recoil to as low a point as possible. Existing semi-automatic Barrett M82/M107 rifles notably have a recoiling barrel system to help reduce recoil.
Barrett .50 Caliber Sniper Rifle Replacement Sought By SOCOM
A new Extreme Long Range Sniper Rifle could replace .50 caliber Barrett and Mk 15 rifles in use with U.S. special operations forces.
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