Any army needs regular updating of weapons and military equipment. In addition, in addition to novelty, promising weapons must meet the requirements of at least the current time. Otherwise, the troops run the risk of getting into a very unpleasant situation, when during the battles they will have to incur unjustified losses directly related to the imperfection of the material part. According to the foreign press, the US Marine Corps, the elite of the American armed forces, has been facing similar problems for several years in a row.
Despite the great attention paid by the command, the USMC has serious problems with weapons. As it turned out, over the past several years, snipers of this type of armed forces have been unable to perform some combat missions due to insufficient weapon characteristics. On June 13, the influential American publication The Washington Post published an article by Thomas Gibbons-Neff entitled Why the Marines have failed to adopt a new sniper rifle in the past 14 years. From the title of the publication it is clear that the author decided to tackle a serious topic directly related to the effectiveness of the combat work of the ILC units.
Snipers of the 2nd Battalion, 5th USMC Regiment in position in Romadi (Iraq), October 2004. Photo by Jim MacMillan / AP
The American journalist began his article with a story about one of the battles that took place several years ago in Afghanistan. In the summer of 2011, in Helmand province, north of Musa Kala, an eight-man sniper team commanded by Sergeant Ben McCallar came under fire. It is noted that these marines have repeatedly participated in battles. In some clashes, they were the first to open fire, in others they took up defensive positions and responded to enemy fire.
This time the Taliban started shooting, and, according to Sergeant McCallar, they immediately pressed the Americans to the ground with machine-gun fire. Unfortunately, the enemy was using large-caliber weapons with a longer firing range, due to which the Marines were unable to destroy the machine gunners with their sniper rifles. The enemy fired from a sufficiently long distance, because of which the snipers had to wait for help in the form of artillery shelling or an air attack.
T. Gibbons-Neff recalls that this story of Marine snipers is not an isolated incident. Both before and after the ambush in Helmand province, ILC fighters had to deal with the problem of insufficient firing range of their sniper rifles. Similar problems plagued the US Marines throughout their 14 years of combat in Afghanistan.
An analysis of the current situation was carried out and certain conclusions were drawn. One of the reasons for the relatively low efficiency of snipers in a number of situations was recognized as the method of recruiting units and the rotation of personnel. Marine Corps snipers in most cases do not have time to gain a lot of experience and relatively quickly replace each other.
In addition, a problem was identified with the existing weapons. What is in service does not fully meet the requirements, and attempts to acquire new ones are faced with an ossified bureaucracy in various management structures of the ILC.
A journalist for The Washington Post recalls that the US Marines are widely known for their "love" for outdated weapons and equipment. For example, during the Gulf War, ground forces tankers tested the latest M1A1 Abrams armored vehicles in battle. At the same time, the Marines arrived in the combat area in obsolete Patton tanks that had traveled through the streets of Saigon in the sixties. In 2003, the Marine Corps returned to Iraq. During this time, his snipers were armed with M40A1 rifles, which appeared shortly after the end of the Vietnam War.
Since then, the M40 rifle has undergone several upgrades, but the effective firing range of such weapons has remained the same - up to 1000 yards (914 m). Thus, the firepower of Marine snipers has hardly changed over the years.
T. Gibbons-Neff notes that former and current ILC snipers agree on the available rifles. They believe that this weapon no longer meets the requirements of the time. In terms of their characteristics, the M40 rifle of the Marine Corps is inferior to similar weapons of snipers from other branches of the US armed forces. Moreover, even the Taliban and the Islamic State already have weapons with higher performance, especially with a longer firing range.
The author of the publication quotes the words of a scout sniper, who wished to remain anonymous in view of the instructions of his superiors. This fighter believes that in the current situation, the training of the ILC sniper loses all importance. "What's the use if we can be shot from a thousand yards before we can answer?"
Sergeant Ben McCallar, who until recently worked as an instructor at a sniper school at Quantico, Virginia, expressed a similar opinion. In addition, he added that the average distance to the enemy in various encounters was 800 yards (731.5 m). At such distances, most of the Marines' weapons were virtually useless.
Mentioned at the beginning of the article Why the Marines have failed to adopt a new sniper rifle in the past 14 years, the battle with the participation of Sergeant McCallar took place in 2011. At the same time, some other events were noted. For example, T. Gibbons-Neff recalls that it was McCallar's platoon that was involved in the scandal with inappropriate actions against the bodies of Taliban fighters.
However, from the point of view of the issue raised, the most interesting is the fact that it was in 2011 that American soldiers had to start using improvised combat tactics. In addition, in the course of such "impromptu" battles, the ILC snipers repeatedly had to deal with insufficient characteristics of their weapons. In a number of cases, snipers could not help their unit by quickly and accurately eliminating a specific enemy fighter.
B. McCallar said that sometimes American snipers noticed and saw Taliban machine gunners, but could not do anything with them. In addition, he noted that in such a situation, rifles that differ from the standard ones and designed for other ammunition could be useful. The effectiveness of the snipers could increase the weapon chambered for.300 Winchester Magnum or.338.
The author of The Washington Post recalls that such rearmament is not only possible, but is already being carried out by the US Army. Back in 2011, the.300 Winchester Magnum ammunition was adopted as the main sniper cartridge for service with the ground forces. This allows Army snipers to fire 300 yards (approximately 182 m) further than Marines with M40 rifles using the.308 light bullet.
The United States Marine Corps System Command, which is responsible for ordering and purchasing new weapons and equipment, is aware of the problems with sniper rifles and is taking some measures. According to official figures, several options for replacing existing M40 rifles are currently being considered. Nevertheless, the existing weapons, as noted, still meet the requirements.
The M40 rifle was developed by the Precision Weapons Section (PWS) of the ILC System Command and was intended to equip marine snipers. At the moment, the main task of the PWS organization is the maintenance and modernization of rifles of the M40 family. In the absence of other high-precision weapons, the specialists of this organization provide "support" for only one type of weapon.
In this regard, T. Gibbons-Neff quotes the words of the former head of the school of snipers in Quantico Chris Sharon. This officer believes that the command of the ILC does not want to abandon the outdated M40 rifle for objective reasons related to the PWS branch. The M40 rifles are the only factor that keeps this organization alive. The rejection of such weapons, in turn, would make the corresponding separation superfluous.
K. Sharon claims that no one wants to become the "killer" of the Precision Weapons Section. The abandonment of the M40 rifles will lead to a serious reduction in one of the most important structural divisions of the Marine Corps. As a result, none of the commanders wants to take on such a complex and controversial decision.
Comparison of the M40A5 rifle with other weapons of a similar purpose
According to the former head of the school of snipers, the solution to the existing problem could be the Precision Sniper Rifle or PSR program, implemented in conjunction with private arms companies. K. Sharon believes that such a project would not be too expensive, thanks to which the ILC could order two promising rifles for the price of one current M40. He also recalled that all the main NATO armies have already switched to sniper weapons chambered for.338. Only US Marine Corps snipers are still forced to use the outdated.308, which has a corresponding effect on firing efficiency.
Also in the old Why the Marines have failed to adopt a new sniper rifle in the past 14 years, the words of the former instructor of one of the training units of the special operations forces of the USMC, Sergeant J. D. Montefasco. The Marine spoke about a joint training exercise by US and British Marine snipers in the highlands of California. Sergeant Montefasco noted that American shooters were superior to their British counterparts in terms of training. However, the Royal Marines fired better. The reasons for the loss of his colleagues J. D. Montefasco described the bad weather and the superiority of British rifles firing a heavier bullet.
According to the instructor sergeant, the US Marines did not complete many missions. British snipers, in turn, used different cartridges with heavier bullets, which allowed them not to worry about difficult weather conditions at the shooting range. US ILC snipers should have received rifles chambered for.338 even during the war in Afghanistan, - summed up Sergeant Montefasco.
Despite all the wishes of former and current Marine snipers, the command is not going to order new weapons yet. Moreover, not so long ago, the command of the ILC announced its intention to carry out another modernization of the rifles of the M40 family. The result of this project will be the replacement of rifles model M40A5 with products of the type M40A6. At the same time, as the journalist of The Washington Post notes, the firing range will not change.
In connection with such plans of the command, K. Sharon proposes to carefully consider the new programs and answer the question: who "rules" the updating of the marines' weapons?
All snipers interviewed by T. Gibbons-Neff look to the future with concern. Due to the continued development of the M40 rifle without a serious change in the firing range, the next possible armed conflict could lead to unnecessary losses among personnel. The enemy can have an advantage in firing range and thereby seriously impede the actions of the US ILC.
At the end of the article, the author of The Washington Post again quotes the current sniper, who wished to remain anonymous. This fighter says that the United States has the best snipers in the world, and the ILC has the best officers in the country. Marine snipers are the most dangerous hunters in any terrain. But if the existing problems persist in the next armed conflict, the Marines will have to learn the hard way what it is to come to a shootout with a knife.
As you can see, the US ILC snipers found themselves in a very difficult situation. A few years ago, their main opponents found a profitable tactic: the use of large-caliber machine guns. With these weapons, Afghan or Iraqi militias could fire at US Marines from a safe distance without fear of return fire from precision weapons. The Marines have repeatedly talked about their needs, but those in charge are not in a hurry to meet them, as a result of which snipers still have to use weapons with insufficient range. Moreover, the command is going to once again upgrade the M40 rifle, clearly ignoring existing requests.
In the article Why the Marines have failed to adopt a new sniper rifle in the past 14 years, there is an interesting infographic that compares various samples of American and foreign sniper weapons. In connection with the context of the article, the comparison is made only in terms of the maximum effective range of fire.
Sixth in terms of range was taken by the Russian SVD rifle, capable of hitting at 875 yards (800 m). Just one notch higher in this impromptu ranking is the USMC's main sniper rifle, the M40A5. Its range of fire reaches only 1000 yards (914 m). The fourth place went to the M2010 rifle, which has been a US Army sniper weapon for several years. Thanks to the.338 cartridge, its firing range reaches 1300 yards (1190 m).
The top three is completed by the US SOCOM Precision Sniper Rife, striking at 1600 yards (1460 m). This weapon is used by US Special Operations Command snipers. The honorable second place was taken by the standard British Army L115A3 sniper rifle with a similar range - up to 1600 yards. In the first place, the authors of the rating put the Chinese large-caliber (12, 7x108 mm) so-called. the M99 anti-material rifle, capable of confidently hitting targets at ranges over 1600-1700 yards.
It must be admitted that the first place in such a rating raises certain questions, since the Chinese rifle is designed for a large-caliber, not a rifle cartridge. In this, it is seriously different from other samples presented in the list, which is why the correctness of its mention may be the subject of a separate dispute. However, even without the M99 product, the above table looks rather unfortunate for the US Marine Corps snipers. Their weapons are inferior to other sniper rifles, including those used by the American army. However, most of all, the Americans should be concerned about the fact that the existing M40A5s are inferior in firing range to various large-caliber machine guns, which for some time have begun to be actively used by various armed formations.
As the headline of the article in The Washington Post suggests, the need to replace the M40 rifle and its modifications has matured almost a decade and a half ago. However, over the past time and two wars, the command of the ILC did not take the necessary measures, continuing to rely on already outdated weapons and prioritizing the preservation of the Precision Weapons Section. How this whole story will end is not yet fully understood. That said, the US Marine snipers have strong cause for concern. In the event of an armed conflict, they really risk being left with a knife in the middle of a shootout.
