Tri-Service

Shooting With Stealth: International Snipers' Contest

The Defence Tri-Service Sniper Competition 2016 has taken place on Bisley Ranges, Surrey and Salisbury Plain Training Area in Wiltshire.

The annual competition saw entries from the Army, Royal Marines and Royal Air Force Regiment along with invited international teams who had all been selected to enter the competition through previous single service and national sniper competitions.

International teams from Canada, Germany, France and Denmark were all involved.

The highly-contested event challenged the sniper teams in all of the skills they could be called upon when deployed on operations.

Long-range rifle shoots, close-quarter rifle and pistol shoots and camouflage and concealment whilst 'stalking' a target were all examined.

Sniper teams took part in challenges in both urban and rural environments, from ranges of 10 to 1,200 metres.

Each team consisted of a number of sniper 'pairs' which are broken down into 'Sniper One' and 'Sniper Two'.

Sniper One carries the L115A3 Long Range Rifle.

The L115A3 is a large-calibre (8.59mm) weapon which provides state-of-the-art, telescopic, day and night, all-weather sights.

These considerably increase a sniper's effective range, having seen recent service in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The rifle is designed to achieve a first-round hit at 600 metres and harassing fire out to 1,100 metres.

Sniper Two carries a support weapon such as the L129A1 Sniper Support Weapon or the L86A2 Light Support Weapon.

Sniper Two works as the ‘spotter’ for Sniper One, identifying targets and providing detailed information such as wind and distance that may affect the sniper’s shot.

Both snipers also carry a number of issued Surveillance and Target Acquisition (STA) devices that enable them to identify and monitor targets in all weather during day and night.

The competition tested the sniper pairs to their limits with both physical and mental challenges through day and night, in close quarter assessments and long range rural shoots.

The grand finale of the completion and the ultimate test of a sniper pair was the ‘live stalk’, where the pairs had to approach their targets without being seen, from a drop-off point up to 10 kilometres away whilst being hunted by the competition staff.