M2010 Enhanced Sniper Rifle

The M2010 Enhanced Sniper Rifle (ESR), formerly known as the XM2010 Enhanced Sniper Rifle and M24 Reconfigured Sniper Weapon System, is a sniper rifle developed by PEO Soldier for the United States Army. It is derived from the M24 Sniper Weapon System and replaced the existing M24s. After winning a competitive bidding process, Remington was awarded the production contract. Up to 3,600 weapons will be procured. The Army had anticipated fielding upgraded weapons to deployed U.S. Army Snipers near the end of December 2010. Later project manager for Soldier weapons Colonel Douglas Tamilio said the XM2010 expected fielding will happen in January 2011.

The M2010 system differs from the prior M24 Sniper Weapon System in that the M2010 fires .300 Winchester Magnum ammunition to provide approximately 50% additional effective range relative to the M24's 7.62x51mm NATO. This chambering to dimensionally larger cartridges is possible because the M24 Sniper Weapon System was designed to use the "long-action" version of the Remington 700 receiver. The U.S. Army hopes that the additional effective range helps their snipers in engagements in mountainous and desert terrain in which the War in Afghanistan is fought. The general penalties for using bigger, more powerful magnum rifle ammunition compared to smaller, non-magnum standard rifle cartridges are increases in recoil, jump, flash, weight, and barrel wear.

Design


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

According to Remington Arms each rifle is tested to meet (and typically exceeds) the requirement to fire ≤ 1 MOA (less than a 2-inch shot group at 200 yards) before being released for fielding.
 * Chambered to .300 Winchester Magnum.
 * Barreled to a 24-inch (610 mm) long, 1 in 10 inch (254 mm) 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 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.
 * Fitted with a five-round detachable box magazine.
 * Fitted with a quick-attachable/detachable Advanced Armament Corporation 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. The 10 in Titan-QD Fast-Attach suppressor eliminates 98 percent of muzzle flash, 60 percent of recoil, and reduces sound by 32 decibels.
 * Fitted with a Leupold Mark 4 6.5–20×50mm ER/T M5 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,  fielded with the AN/PVS-29 or AN/PVS-30 Clip-on Sniper Night Sight.
 * The application of advanced corrosion resistant coatings throughout the system.

Ammunition


In 2009 the U.S. government purchased MK 248 MOD 0 and MOD 1 .300 Winchester Magnum match-grade ammunition for use in .300 Winchester Magnum sniper rifles like the U.S. Navy Mk.13 SWS or reconfigured M24 SWSs. This ammunition was developed as a .300 Winchester Magnum Match Product Improvement (PIP) and uses the (190 gr) and 14.26 g (220 gr) Sierra MatchKing Hollow Point Boat Tail (HPBT) very-low-drag bullet fired at a nominal muzzle velocity of 869 m/s (2,850 ft/s) ± 15.2 m/s (50 ft/s). According to the U.S. Navy this ammunition should increase the maximum effective range of .300 Winchester Magnum sniper rifle systems to 1,370 m (1,500 yd), decrease wind deflection on bullets in flight and use a reduced muzzle flash propellant that remains temperature stable across an operational temperature range of -32 °C to 74 °C (-25 °F to 165 °F). According to JBM Ballistics, using the G7 ballistic coefficient provided by Bryan Litz, and a Weapon Employment Zone (WEZ) analysis of the XM-2010 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 869 m/s (2,850 ft/s), should have 1286 to 1289 m supersonic range under International Standard Atmosphere conditions at sea level (air density ρ = 1.225 kg/m3).

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 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 1200 m.

History
The U.S. Army issued three XM2010s to snipers at the United States Army Sniper School on 18 January 2011. Army snipers have been using the XM2010 in combat in Afghanistan since March 2011. The XM2010's .300 Win Mag round extends the engagement range over the M24 from 800 meters to 1,200 meters, enhancing lethality and standoff. The Barrett M107 .50 caliber rifle can hit targets past 2,000 meters, but it is accurate to 2.5 MOA, meaning it would hit within a 25 in area at 1,000 meters. This was acceptable for material targets, but not individual personnel. The XM2010 addressed the problem and gave increased range over the M24 but maintained 1 MOA accuracy. Remington had been awarded a $28 million on 20 September 2010 to rebuild 3,600 M24 rifles, but only 250 had been ordered to be changed by the time the first XM2010s were fielded. Due to the success of the XM2010, Army officials are considering a "pure fleet," meaning all 2,500 Army M24s would be upgraded to XM2010 standard. Snipers in the field learned how to transition to the XM2010 and learn its use, maintenance, and capabilities 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 enhances the rifle's ability to sight a target quickly without needing to do calculations of range estimation. All 250 XM2010 rifles were to be fielded in 8 Brigade Combat Teams by mid-May 2011.

Based on the results and feedback from troops, the U.S. Army decided to replace its entire fleet of M24s, ordering a total of 2,558 M2010 rifles. 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.

Precision guided firearm testing
In March 2014, the company TrackingPoint revealed their smart scope was being integrated onto the M2010 sniper rifle. The Army purchased six systems in January 2014 for testing and the networked scope and guided trigger had been added to the platform. The TrackingPoint system includes a computerized scope that 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. TrackingPoint costs between $22,000 and $27,000 to be installed on a bolt-action rifle to achieve hits out to 1,250 yd, though it is not intended to replace sniping skills but be used by soldiers who need to take shots at longer sniping ranges.

Users

 * 🇺🇸 United States: United States Army.