Sniper Sets New Record for Kill-shots, Target has No Comment
Français/French
VL2007-1011-08
2 février 2007
Fort Bliss, Texas
Des membres de l’équipe de tireurs d’élites (snipers) du Groupement Tactique s’exercent au tir en élévation en montagne dans les secteurs de Fort Bliss avec le fusil à moyenne portée C-14 Timberwolfe de calibre .338.
L’Exercice Réflexe Rapide, qui se déroule à Fort Bliss au Texas du 28 janvier au 27 février 07, constitue une étape importante dans la montée en puissance de la Force Opérationnelle 03-07. Cet exercice interarmées et combiné permet aux soldats de s’entraîner dans un environnement similaire à celui de Kandahar (Afghanistan). Les facilités de Fort Bliss permettent à la FO de se concentrer sur les opérations spécifiques à la mission du niveau de peloton jusqu’au niveau d’équipe de combat. Le scénario d’exercice imitent les exigences du théâtre opérationnel.
Crédit : Cpl Bruno Turcotte – Technicien en imagerie de la Force Opérationnelle 03-07
English/anglais
VL2007-1011-08
2 February 2007
Fort Bliss, Texas
In the mountains of the Fort Bliss training area, members of the Battle Group’s sniper team practise high-altitude shooting with the .338-calibre C-14 Timberwolf medium-range rifle.
Exercise Rapid Reflex, which takes place at Fort Bliss, Texas, from 28 January to 27 February 2007, is an important stage in the build-up of Task Force 03-07. This joint and combined exercise gives the soldiers a chance to train in an environment much like that of Kandahar, Afghanistan. The base facilities allow the Task Force to concentrate on mission-specific operations from platoon to combat team level. The exercise scenario presents situations encountered in the operational theatre.
Photo by Cpl Bruno Turcotte, Task Force 03-07 Imagery Technician
There is an old saying that “Records are made to be broken.” Well according to Canadian military officials, that is just what happened during a recent engagement with ISIS forces in Iraq. According to the story, a Canadian elite special forces sniper has shattered the world record for the longest confirmed kill shot in military history at a staggering distance of 3,450 meters. In English speaking countries that would be just over two and one tenth miles.
Military sources say the sniper, who is a member of Joint Task Force 2, killed an ISIS Terrorists with a McMillan TAC-50 sniper rifle. The sniper was firing from a high-rise during an operation that took place within the last month in Iraq. To put the shot in context, it took the bullet just under 10 seconds from the time the trigger was pulled until it hit its target.
“The shot in question actually disrupted a Daesh [Islamic State] attack on Iraqi security forces,” said a military source, who stressed the operation fell within the strictures of the government’s advise and assist mission. “Instead of dropping a bomb that could potentially kill civilians in the area, it is a very precise application of force and because it was so far way, the bad guys didn’t have a clue what was happening.”
The source told the Daily Mail that the kill shot had been independently verified by both video camera and other data. He went on to say, “There’s hard data on this. It isn’t an opinion. It isn’t an approximation. There is a second location with eyes on with all the right equipment to capture exactly what the shot was.”
A military insider told The Globe: “This is an incredible feat. It is a world record that might never be equaled.” Which is an over-statement, trust me, someone will break that record sooner or later as weapons and ammunition continue to be improved.
The previous world record was held by British sniper Craig Harrison, who shot a Taliban gunner with a 338 Lapua Magnum rifle from 2,475 meters away in 2009. For operational security reasons, sources would not reveal the names of the elite Canadian sniper and his partner, nor the location where the action took place.
Once a sniper team has located their target, the snipers all follow the same methodical approach before each shot. Breathe in, out, in, out, find a natural pause and then squeeze the trigger. “Canada has a world-class sniper system. It is not just a sniper. They work in pairs. There is an observer,” a military source said. “This is a skill set that only a very few people have.”
Making any super-long-range shot requires math skills, great eyesight, precision ammunition, excellent firearms, and superb training. “at the distance where you have to account not just for the ballistics of the round, you have to adjust for wind, for firing from a higher location downward and as the round drops you have to account for that. And from that distance you actually have to account for the curvature of the Earth.”
It is not something that just anyone can do.