British Armed Forces
The British Armed Forces adopted the AWM rifle chambered in .338 Lapua Magnum as the L115A1 Long Range Rifle. The British L115A1 rifles are outfitted with Schmidt & Bender 3-12x50 PM II/MILITARY MKII 3-12x50 0.1 MIL RAD telescopic sights. The L115A1 is in service with the Royal Marines, British Army and RAF Regiment in Afghanistan and Iraq.
In November 2007 the British Ministry of Defence (MOD) announced that their snipers in the Army, Royal Marines and RAF Regiment were to get a new rifle. Accuracy International would supply 580 L115A3 Long Range Rifles with day telescopic sights. The L115A3 is being supplied as part of a broader Sniper System Improvement Programe (SSIP) program which also includes night sights, spotting scopes, laser range finders and tripods.[25] The L115A3 rifle was first deployed to Afghanistan in May 2008.[23] Some features of the improved L115A3 include:
- Schmidt & Bender 5-25x56 PM II LP/MILITARY MKII 5-25x56 0.1 MIL RAD parallax, illumination, double turn telescopic sights;
- Suppressors to reduce the flash and noise signature;
- Folding stocks for better carrying in a backpack;
- Adjustable cheek pieces for more comfort and better eye alignment with the telescopic sight;
- Butt spikes (monopods) to aid stability during firing;
- Adjustable bipods, which differ from the original Accuracy International bipod;
- 5 round box magazines.
The MOD claims a muzzle velocity of 936 m/s (3,071 ft/s) for the L115A3.[26] This implies the British military are using a high pressure load to attain this muzzle velocity. A reverse engineering simulation with QuickLOAD internal ballistic software predicted that a typical military .338 Lapua Magnum load using 16.2 g (250 gr) Lapua LockBase B408 bullets at an overall cartridge length of 91.44 mm (3.600 in) produces ≈ 460 MPa (66,833 psi) maximum piezo chamber pressure to achieve the claimed 936 m/s (3,071 ft/s) muzzle velocity.
[edit]Dutch Armed Forces
The AWSM-F chambered in .338 Lapua Magnum has been introduced from 1996 by the Dutch Army’s Korps Commandotroepen snipers and the AWSM is used by all long range marksmen of the 11 Luchtmobiele Brigade (airborne infantry), mechanized infantry and reconnaissance units. Recently (2007) the snipers of the Netherlands Marine Corps also received this sniper rifle. The Dutch AWSM(-F) rifles are outfitted with Schmidt & Bender 10x42 PM II and 3-12x50 PM II telescopic sights. The rifles are designated as Accuracy, antipersoneel snipergeweer .338 (Accuracy anti personnel sniper rifle .338) and the Military of the Netherlands claim a maximum effective range of 1,400 m (1,531 yd) for their AWSM(-F) rifles and have used these rifles in Afghanistan with great success.[17][18]
[edit]German Armed Forces
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Since 1998 the Bundeswehr fields an AWM-F chambered in .300 Winchester Magnum (7.62 x 67 mm in Bundeswehr nomenclature), with a 3-12x56 SSG telescopic sight made by the German company Zeiss, under the designation of G22 (for Gewehr 22) or Scharfschützengewehr 22(sniper rifle 22). The German G22 rifles have folding stocks and emergency iron sights. For their G22 rifles the Bundeswehr claims an effective range of 1,100 m (1,203 yd).[13][14]
The German ammunition manufacturer Metallwerk Elisenhütte Nassau (MEN) has specially developed 7.62 x 67 mm ammunition for the G22.[27]
The Carl Zeiss Optronics (previously branded as Hensoldt) telescopic sight has a mil-dot reticle and a scale that enables the operator to see the dialled in elevation setting through the rifle scopes ocular. The Bundeswehr 3-12x56 SSG telescopic sight differs somewhat from the further developed 3-12x56 SSG-P telescopic sight. The Bundeswehr telescopic sight has no parallax setting option and the range scale has a setting range from 0 to 10 instead of 0 to 11 symbolizing the 11.2 milliradian elevation adjustment range shown in the current Carl Zeiss Optronics 3-12x56 SSG-P telescopic sight brochure.[28]
[edit]Royal Malaysia Police
The 69 Commandos of the Pasukan Gerakan Khas (PGK) snipers from Royal Malaysia Police using the AWSM, chambered in .338 Lapua Magnum alongside the 7.62mm Accuracy International Arctic Warfare.[citation needed]
[edit]Norwegian Special Forces
The snipers in Marinejegerkommandoen and Forsvarets Spesialkommando are currently using the AWM primary weapon .338 Lapua Magnum, with Schmidt & Bender scopes.[citation needed]
[edit]Russian Alpha Group
The snipers of the Russian Alpha Group counter-terrorism unit are using the AWM-F chambered in .338 Lapua Magnum with Zeiss 3-12×56 SSG series telescopic sights.[21][22]
[edit]Singapore Army
The snipers of the Singapore Army use the AWM alongside the Accuracy International Arctic Warfare.[citation needed]
[edit]South Korean Special Forces
The 707th Special Mission BN from ROK Army and the Republic of Korea Naval Special Warfare Brigade from ROK Navy use AWM series sniper rifles chambered in .338 Lapua Magnum outfitted with Schmidt & Bender 3-12x50 PM II telescopic sights.[citation needed]
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