According to officials, the Indian Army has received the latest sniper rifles from Finland for soldiers deployed along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir.
“The army has received the most recent sniper rifles. They are currently employing it. According to a senior official, these are Sako.338 TRG-42 sniper rifles. The Sako.338 TRG-42 sniper rifles have a greater range, firepower, and telescopic sights than the adversary, according to the official.
He stated that snipers along the LoC are being trained on the new rifles.
The move is intended to make the snipers more lethal as operational dynamics along the LoC change, according to the official. According to the official, sniping has become a greater challenge for troops patrolling forward areas along the LoC and the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir.
Between 2018 and 2019, there was a significant increase in the number of sniping incidents along the LoC and IB, prompting armed forces to induct better sniper rifles and train their snipers to counter such attacks.
The Sako rifles have replaced the Beretta.338 Lapua Magnum Scorpio TGT and Barrett.50 Calibre M95 rifles, which were inducted into the Indian army in 2019 and 2020, respectively. These rifles, made in Italy and America, had taken the place of the ageing Russian Dragunov, which had been the mainstay of Indian soldiers.
The Dragunovs, which were first purchased in the 1990s, have gradually fallen behind modern sniper rifles, which offer improved sights and mounts, increased accuracy, and a strike range of over one kilometre.
The Sako TRG-42 sniper rifle is a bolt-action sniper rifle designed and manufactured by the Finnish firearms manufacturer SAKO. The rifle is built to fire powerful.338 Lapua Magnum cartridges. The sniper rifle, which weighs 6.55 kg without ammunition, has an effective range of 1,500 metres, according to the official.
“It is regarded as one of the most accurate and reliable weapons in the world,” he said.
The Army has sanctioned a team of ten snipers for the job, drawn from the Indian Army’s units and regimental centres, according to the official.
