*THE FOLLOWING IS NOT WRITTEN BY ME*
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New sniper rifle makes debut in Iraq war zone
Weapon shown to hit targets at 2,400 yards
By Laura Bailey
Times staff writer
While Marine snipers using the M40A3 sniper rifle in Fallujah, Iraq, are
touting the Corps' longest confirmed kill in Iraq at 1,050 yards, an Idaho
arms company says its weapons can - and are - shooting farther in the war
zone.
A small number of CheyTac M200 Long Range Rifle Systems have made their way
to Marines in Iraq through U.S. Special Operations Command, said Robin
Sharpless, senior vice president of the Arco, Idaho-based company.
While the weapon is known to have fired accurately at distances beyond 2,400
yards in numerous field demonstrations in the United States, there also are
unconfirmed rumors that it is performing similarly in operational situations
in Iraq.
Sharpless would not disclose the number of rifles in theater or who
specifically has them, but he said the weapon is rumored to have been used
to kill Iraqi combatants at distances of 900 to 2,400 yards.
Military officials in Iraq did not respond to a request for comment by Jan.
21.
With accurate shots at such distances, Sharpless said the CheyTac rifle is
bound to dramatically change sniper standards, possibly giving the Marine
Corps "command and control decapitation" capabilities at greater distances
in the future.
"A $4 bullet could now do what an F/A-18 would take," he said. "That's a lot
cheaper than an F/A-18 and a laser-guided bomb."
The company touts the weapon's .408 round as having an especially smooth and
stable flight capability, allowing it to travel farther.
"We've identified a system to identify, quantify and mitigate the factors
that affect a bullet's flight," Sharpless said.
But the bigger punch comes with a tradeoff in weight.
At 27 pounds, the CheyTac is a bigger load than the M40A3, which fires a
7.62mm round and weighs 16.5 pounds. And that's just the rifle itself.
Beyond the rifle, the CheyTac package includes a hand-held computer system
that calculates elevation and windage and provides the operator with
appropriate settings, such as correction for air temperature and air
pressure.
The system also includes an infrared laser; a sensor package to measure
wind, air temperature and air pressure for feeding into the hand-held
computer; a laser range-finder; and a wrist computer that provides
environmental data. It also features day and night optical systems.
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BC
