M2010 Enhanced Sniper Rifle Explained

M2010 Enhanced Sniper Rifle
Origin:	United States
Is Ranged:	yes
Service:	2011–present
Used By:	See Users
Design Date:	2010
Production Date:	2010–2014^[1]
Number:	2,558
Weight:	12.1lbs
Length:	46.5inches
Part Length:	24inches
Range:	12000NaN0^[2]

The M2010 Enhanced Sniper Rifle (ESR), formerly known as the XM2010 and M24 Reconfigured Sniper Weapon System, is a sniper rifle developed by PEO Soldier for the United States Army.^[3] It is derived from and replaced the M24 Sniper Weapon System, and was designed to give snipers longer range in the mountainous and desert terrain of the War in Afghanistan.^[4] After winning a competitive bidding process, Remington was awarded the production contract for up to 3,600 weapons. The Army had anticipated sending the upgraded weapons to deployed snipers in late 2010,^[5] ^[6] but later expected fielding would happen in January 2011.^[2] The M2010 fires .300 Winchester Magnum (7.62×67mm) ammunition, which offers about 50 percent more effective range than the M24's 7.62×51mm NATO. This chambering to dimensionally larger cartridges is possible because the M24 was designed to use the "long action" bolt version of the Remington 700 receiver for cartridges up to 3.34inches in overall length.

History

The Barrett M107 .50 BMG rifle can hit targets past 20000NaN0, but it is accurate to 2.5 MOA, meaning it would hit within a 25inches area at 10000NaN0. This was acceptable for shooting at materiel but not people. The XM2010 addressed the problem with a .300 Winchester Magnum round that can hit targets out to 12000NaN0 with a 1 MOA accuracy, half again farther than the M24's 8000NaN0.

On 20 September 2010, the Army gave Remington a $28 million contract to rebuild 3,600 M24 rifles. By January, 250 had been ordered to be changed.

The U.S. Army issued three XM2010s to snipers at the United States Army Sniper School on 18 January 2011^[7] and began using the rifle in combat in Afghanistan in March 2011. Snipers in the field learned how to use and maintain the new rifle during a three-day course. After the course, snipers had no difficulty hitting targets out to 1,000 meters from "ridgetop to ridgetop". In addition to the more powerful cartridge, the new optic improves the rifle's ability to sight a target quickly without calculations of range estimation.

All 250 XM2010 rifles were to be fielded in eight Brigade Combat Teams by mid-May 2011.^[8] Based on the results and feedback from troops, the U.S. Army decided in May 2011 to replace its entire fleet of M24s, ordering a total of 2,558 M2010 rifles.^[9] By September 2012, the Army had fielded more than 1,400 systems as part of an urgent material release. The M2010 achieved Type Classification-Standard in July 2013 and Full Materiel Release in September 2013, supporting procurement for the balance of the Army requirement. On 25 April 2014, the 2,558th M2010 rifle was completed.^[10] ^[11]

Precision guided firearm testing

In January 2014, the Army bought six "smart scopes" made by TrackingPoint for testing on the M2010 sniper rifle. Costing between $22,000 and $27,000, the computerized scope marks a selected target, gathers and compensates for external factors, and uses a special trigger that does not pull until the system is sure the bullet will land where intended. It can help a bolt-action rifle to hit targets out to 12500NaN0. It is intended to help non-snipers take shots at longer ranges, not replace sniping skills.^[12]

Replacement plans

The U.S. Army plans to field the Barrett Mk22 MRAD (Multi-Role Adaptive Design) in 2021 to eventually replace the M2010. This bolt-action weapon can be user field converted to fire 7.62×51mm NATO, .300 Norma Magnum and .338 Norma Magnum. With the Norma Magnum chambering options, the Mk22 can shoot out to 15000NaN0, 3000NaN0 further than the M2010 Enhanced Sniper Rifle.^[13]

Design details

The M2010 Enhanced Sniper Rifle differs from 7.62×51mm NATO chambered M24 Sniper Weapon System in that M2010 sniper weapons are:^[14] ^[15]

Chambered to .300 Winchester Magnum.
Barreled to a 240NaN0 long, 1 in 10inches twist rate (using Obermeyer 5-R rifling) hammer-forged free floating barrel.
Fitted with a new chassis (stock) assembly that maximizes the amount of physical adjustments for the sniper to provide a better user customized fit. The chassis has a right folding buttstock that shortens the system for easier transport and better concealment during movement and accommodates the mounting of accessories via removable Mil Std 1913 Picatinny Rails and accessory cables via routing channels.
Fitted with a five-round detachable box magazine.
Fitted with a quick-attachable/detachable Advanced Armament Corporation (AAC) 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.^[16] The 100NaN0 Titan-QD Fast-Attach suppressor eliminates 98 percent of muzzle flash, 60 percent of recoil, and reduces sound by 32 decibels.^[17]
Fitted with a Leupold Mark 4 6.5–20×50mm ER/T M5A2 Front Focal variable power telescopic sight featuring a 34 mm tube diameter, first focal plane Horus Vision H-58 grid system range estimation reticle and Bullet Drop Compensation,^[18] ^[19] fielded with the AN/PVS-29 or AN/PVS-30 Clip-on Sniper Night Sight.^[20] ^[21]
The application of advanced corrosion resistant coatings throughout the system.

According to Remington Arms each rifle is tested to meet (and typically exceeds) the requirement to fire ≤ 1 moa/0.3 mil (less than a 2-inch shot group at 200yd) before being released for fielding.^[22]

Ammunition

In 2009, the U.S. government purchased MK 248 MOD 1 .300 Winchester Magnum match-grade ammunition for use in .300 Winchester Magnum sniper rifles like the U.S. Navy Mk13 SWS or reconfigured M24 SWSs. This ammunition was developed as a .300 Winchester Magnum Match Product Improvement (PIP) and uses the 14.26 g (220 gr) Sierra MatchKing Hollow Point Boat Tail (HPBT) very-low-drag bullet fired at a nominal muzzle velocity of 869m/s ± 15.2m/s. According to the U.S. Navy, this ammunition should increase the maximum effective range of .300 Winchester Magnum sniper rifle systems to 1370m (4,500feet), decrease wind deflection on bullets in flight, and use a reduced muzzle flash propellant that remains temperature stable across an operational temperature range of -32C74C.^[23] ^[24] ^[25] According to JBM Ballistics,^[26] using the 0.310 G7 ballistic coefficient provided by Bryan Litz, and a Weapon Employment Zone (WEZ) analysis of the XM2010 rifle with various .300 Winchester Magnum ammunition types by Bryan Litz, the MK 248 MOD 1 .300 Winchester Magnum cartridge, when fired at its nominal muzzle velocity of 869m/s, should have 1286to supersonic range under International Standard Atmosphere conditions at sea level (air density ρ = 1.225 kg/m³).^[27] ^[28]

In January 2014, the U.S. Department of Defense annual testing report found that the older A191 or MK 248 Mod 0 .300 Winchester Magnum service round loaded with aerodynamically less efficient 190 gr (12.32 g) Sierra MatchKing Hollow Point Boat Tail (HPBT) bullets (0.270 G7 ballistic coefficient provided by Bryan Litz) fired from the XM2010 demonstrated adequate performance and lethality. Live fire tests were conducted in March 2013 against ballistics gelatin, light material barriers, and other targets to determine the projectile's ability to perforate targets. This was the first time the Pentagon's Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) tested the round, which can hit targets out to 12000NaN0.^[29] ^[28]

Civilian use

In March 2015, Remington Defense announced that they will start offering some of their products for sale on the civilian market. One of those products is the M2010 sniper rifle.^[30]