The variety of challenges that the Indian Armed Forces deal with demands the use of the best weaponry. Sniper rifles are long-range, high-precision weapons. For anti-personnel, anti-materiel, and surveillance purposes, the military sniper must have precision, dependability, mobility, concealment, and optics. The contemporary sniper rifle is a shoulder-fired weapon system with a bolt-action or semi-automatic action, a telescopic sight for great accuracy, and a cartridge chambered for a high-ballistic performance centerfire cartridge. It is needless to say that Indian Armed forces use sniper rifles for a variety of operations including but not limited to: Counter Insurgency, Counter-Terrorism, Security, etc. Also Watch: 10 Skills To Become Indian Army Sniper. In this article, we present to you the Top 5 Sniper Rifles used by the Indian Armed Forces.
Mauser SP66
The SP66 is a German-made sniper rifle from the late Cold War era. It was derived from a traditional hunting rifle design by Mauser in the mid-1970s. The SP66 was designed for military and police enforcement use. The Mauser 86SR took the place of the SP66 in manufacture. The SP66 is based on the Model 66 Super Match hunting rifle for civilians. The SP66 is distinguished by its completely rebuilt chassis and multi-slotted muzzle brake. A thumbhole stock with a lot of adjustment is included in the chassis. The Zeiss Diavari ZA 1.5-6z scope is usually used. A bipod is not required.
The SP66 uses a three-round internal magazine to fire the 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge. Because of the short bolt action, follow-up shots are quite quick. The accuracy is said to be excellent, and the effective range is around 800 meters.The SP66 was marketed to a variety of police enforcement organizations all over the world, the majority of which were based in Europe. Although most customers have switched to newer versions, a limited number of SP66s are still in use.
IMI Galil Sniper
The Galil Sniper is an Israeli-made marksman weapon. It’s also known as the Galat’z in Israel. The Galil Sniper served as a specialized marksman rifle as well as a sniper rifle. The Galil Sniper is based on the Galil assault rifle’s 7.62mm NATO version. It has a two-stage trigger, a thick wooden stock, and a hefty barrel, and it only comes in 7.62mm NATO. It’s usually paired with a Nimrod 6×40 optical scope. The furniture was modified throughout time to minimize weight and enhance ergonomics. The 7.62x51mm NATO bullet is fired from a 10 or 25 round magazine in the Galil Sniper. They are semi-automatic and have an operating range of up to 800 meters. The accuracy is said to be inferior to that of a bolt-action rifle. The advantage is that it allows for quick follow-up shots. Israel adopted the Galil Sniper and sold it to other countries. Today, improved variations are still accessible. The KAC SR-25 was used to complement the Galil Sniper in Israeli service.
Heckler & Koch PSG-1
The PSG-1 is a German-made sniper rifle from the late Cold War era. It was the first sniper rifle built from the ground up for police enforcement. The development of a semi-automatic sniper rifle based on the G3 began in 1971 and was accelerated following the unsuccessful hostage rescue attempt at the 1972 Munich Olympics. “Präzisions Scharfschützengewehr 1” stands for “precision sniper rifle 1” in German. The PSG-1 is based on the well-received Heckler & Koch G3 combat rifle. It has the same roller-locked delayed blowback mechanism and receiver as the original, but it has been heavily changed elsewhere. The rifle is equipped with a low-noise bolt closing system and has a free-floating barrel. The PSG-1 has a big completely adjustable stock, a palm rest on the pistol grip, and a Gardini micro tripod, making it exceptionally ergonomic.
The PSG-1 is a semi-automatic sniper rifle that uses 5- or 20-round magazines to fire the 7.62x51mm NATO bullet. The accuracy is stated as greater than match grade, and 0.5 MOA may be attained with the right ammo. Although the greatest effective range is estimated to be over 1.000 meters, the Hensoldt 6×42 scope can only be utilized up to 600 meters. Because of its function, the greatest range in practice will be no more than 300 meters. Many Western counter-terrorist forces chose the PSG-1, and it is still in service today. It is seldom employed in military operations because to its weight, expense, lack of iron sights, and poor durability. For law enforcement usage, the semi-automatic function is generally thought unnecessary, and contemporary bolt action sniper rifles are increasingly replacing the PSG-1.
Dragunov SVD59
The Dragunov Sniper Rifle is a suitable weapon for infantry and other units to attack manpower, both defended and unprotected, and other battlefield targets across a greater range of distances with exceptional precision.The SVD is a dependable gas-operated sniper rifle that can attack a variety of targets within a range of 1200 meters utilizing a variety of 7.62x54mm ammunition (including AP Incendiary, AP, tracer bullets etc).
The rifle is simple to operate, maintain, and repair, which is important for normal soldiers. Depending on the tasks and battle situation, marksmen can alter and equip the sniper rifle with various sighting systems (both day and night). This sort of small gun is in high demand in today’s theater of action.
SVD has been put to the test in battles all around the world, making it unquestionably trustworthy and efficient.
OSV-96
The OSV-96 is a Russian anti-material rifle from the contemporary period. It was created in the 1990s to meet the needs of interior and military special forces. Those forces didn’t have a specialised anti-material rifle at the time. A dual purpose as an anti-material weapon and a counter-sniper rifle was envisioned. The OSV-96 is a large, heavy rifle with a long barrel. It’s a step up from the V-94 prototype. The OSV-96 is a semi-automatic gas-operated pistol. Above the barrel is a gas tube, and beneath it is a bipod. A multi-slotted muzzle brake is installed on the long barrel. The weapon is equipped with backup iron sights, however it is generally shot with the POS 13×60 optical sight. With a rubber shoulder pad, the stock is made of wood. The weapon can be folded halfway to make this very long pistol simpler to travel, which is a unique feature.
When utilizing a night vision sight, the effective range is stated to be 1.8 km in daytime and 600 m at night. SPTs-12.7 ammo has a stated accuracy of 1.5 MOA when used with specialist sniper ammunition. With a performance penalty, regular machine gun ammo can also be utilized. Because of the fixed barrel, Russian sources claim that the OSV-96 is more accurate than the American Barrett M107, which is a reasonable claim. The OSV-96 was found to be less accurate in military trials than the bolt-action ASVK.
Conclusion
These snipers definitely add to our military power, and give us an upper hand especially in counter-insurgency and counter-infiltration operations. We give our personnel training in handling these rifles and using it to our advantage in combat. In addition to these DRDO is planning to build indigenous sniper rifles, so that we gain some amount of self reliance in this particular type of weaponry.
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