In 2011, US army snipers will be outfitted with the XM2010 rifle, capable of hitting a target from a 3,937-foot distance — about three quarters of a mile. The current sniper rifle, the M-24, has a range of 2,625 feet, by contrast.
The Army expects to begin fielding 250 upgraded weapons to deployed U.S. Army Snipers by January 2011. The XM2010 is considered a “total conversion upgrade”, by which the chambering, barrel, stock, magazines, muzzlebrake, suppressor, and even the optics will be changed.
Remington got an open-ended contract to revamp the M-24s into longer-range XM2010s, with an eye to making 3,600 guns in all — about 1100 more of them than the Army has snipers.
Darpa, the Pentagon’s out-there research branch, has a project called “One Shot” that aims to deliver sniper rifles whose accuracy won’t be thrown off by high-velocity winds. Those are supposed to arrive in 2011, too. The year after that, Darpa contractor Teledyne is scheduled to deliver a prototype of a smart .50-caliber bullet that can adjust its trajectory for wind and humidity fluctuations.
The Xm2010 upgrades –
* Rechambering to .300 Winchester Magnum.
* Rebarreling to a 610 mm (24 in) long, 254 mm (1 in 10 inch) twist rate (5R) hammer-forged free floating barrel.
* Fitting a new chassis (stock) assembly
* Fitting a 5-round detachable box magazine.
* Fitting a quick-attachable/detachable Advanced Armament Corp. sound suppressor with muzzle brake to reduce recoil and jump and audible and visible signature with an available thermal sleeve that reduces mirage effect on heated suppressors.
* Fitting a Leupold Mark 4 6.5-20x50mm ER/T M5 Front Focal variable power telescopic sight featuring a 34 mm tube diameter, first focal plane Horus Vision grid system range estimation reticle and Bullet Drop Compensation, fielded with the AN/PVS-29 Clip-on Sniper Night Sight.
* Applying advanced corrosion resistant coatings throughout the system.
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