New Player at Special Operations Field

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U.S. Special Operations Command will equip its combatants with a new sniper rifle model. The command has awarded a nearly $50 million contract to Barrett Firearms Manufacturing to produce their Multi-Role Adaptive Design (MRAD) for the Advanced Sniper Rifle (ASR) over the next five years.

The ASR replaces the Precision Sniper Rifle for special ops snipers. It is a bolt action rifle that can be converted to fire .338 Norma Mag, .300 Norma Mag, and NATO 7.62 mm calibers.

Barrett has been selected to provide their MRAD as the U.S. Special Operations Command Advanced Sniper Rifle system, designated as Mk21, according to the company’s announcement.

Last year SOCOM officials announced that they would replace their 7.62 mm sniper rifles with the 6.5 mm Creedmoor. That round, according to officials, doubles their hit probability at the 1,000-meter range, increases the effective range by half, reduces wind drift and has less recoil, according to militarytimes.com.