Soldier Armed
XM110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System
By Scott R. Gourley
Representatives for Army Test and Evaluation Command are conducting operational testing on the newest addition to the U.S. Army arsenal: the XM110 7.62 mm semi-automatic sniper system (SASS). As that testing is under way, there is a high likelihood that small numbers of the new system will begin entering the field in response to urgent need requirements.
According to Lt. Col. Kevin P. Stoddard, U.S. Army product manager (PM) for Crew-Served Weapons, the XM110 program evolved in response to a field requirement from some U.S. Army sniper teams. Those teams are currently equipped with the M24 7.62 mm sniper weapon system and the M107 .50-caliber semi-automatic long-range sniper rifle. Because snipers operate in teams, their equipment requirements fall under the PM for crew-served weapons.
“Right now the Army has an M24, which is bolt action,” Stoddard explained. “Then we came along with the .50-caliber, the M107, which is a .50-caliber semi-automatic. It’s designed to reach out beyond 1,000 meters [to engage] anti-materiel targets. Then units came along with a new requirement. They were looking for [the ability to engage] light-skinned materiel as well as personnel with 7.62 mm. They were also looking for a weapon that would be good in a close urban fight as well.”
The requirement for a new semi-automatic sniper system was released at the end of 2004. The Army called for “a 7.62 mm semi-automatic sniper system capable of delivering precision fire primarily on anti-personnel targets out to a range of 1,000 meters. This system must be a man portable, shoulder-fired system using military standard 7.62 x 51 mm caliber ammunition but optimized for the open-tip M118LR long-range ammunition. In addition, M993 armor piercing (AP) ammunition will be fired based on specific mission requirements. Compatibility with the existing family of military 7.62 x 51 mm caliber ammunition is also required. The primary components of the system include a rifle, detachable bipod, hard transport/storage case(s), soft carrying case(s), cleaning/maintenance equipment and manuals. The weapon will have a flash/sound suppressor, high capacity (up to 20-round) detachable box magazines; rails/mounting surfaces for mounting fire control (optics, backup iron sights and aim-light) systems; variable power optics/electro-optics (in order to engage targets between 50 and 1,000 meters); and an accompanying spotting scope with range estimation reticle(s) and a night vision interface.”
The solicitation drew formal responses from five candidate systems. Following government down-selection processes, the SASS contract was awarded in late September 2005 to Knight’s Armament Company of Titusville, Florida.
According to Stoddard, Knight’s Armament based their SASS entry on a modification of their 7.62 mm MK11 MOD 0 weapon currently used by U.S. Naval Special Warfare Sea/Air/Land (SEAL) team elements. Lineage of the MK11 design can be further traced back to the 7.62 mm SR-25 (Stoner rifle) fielded to sniper elements within the U.S. Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment. “The basic gun is the Mk 11 design, but there are certainly some additions to that for the SASS,” he said. “The SASS is designed as a system. What that means, as an example, is that we had to develop a suppressor that changed the dynamics but did not change point of aim/point of impact. It was optimized for that gun.”
Other changes to the SASS design include different mounting rails, different trigger components, an ambidextrous safety selector, different weapon color, two different magazines—10 round and 15 round, “drag bags,” carrying cases and shipping containers.
Emphasizing the systems aspect of the XM110, Stoddard explained that his office is also using SASS with a new sniper-spotting scope. “We’re also qualifying the XM151 spotting scope that has the same reticle in it that the sniper sees in the Mark 4 scope on the XM110,” he said. Both scopes are manufactured by Leupold. Once qualified under SASS, the new spotting scope will also facilitate the spotter mission when the team is operating with other sniper weapons.
Operational testing is currently being conducted on 15 XM110 SASS systems at Fort Drum, N.Y. That testing will support a low-rate initial production decision, which is currently projected for the end of June. Longer range plans call for the gun to be classified as standard—redesignated as M110—around December with a current projected total buy of 4,492 systems.
In addition to this traditional testing and fielding process, Stoddard also noted the possibility of an urgent fielding of a small number of systems to elements of the 10th Mountain Division in the immediate future. Regardless of the nuances of the fielding approach taken by the Army, Stoddard highlighted the tactical benefits that the XM110 SASS will provide to warfighters. “Over time, the battlefield changes,” he observed. “The enemy gets smarter. Targets don’t stand up and stay there. They get behind things. They learn to expose themselves for a few seconds and then they drop down and move again. And when the insurgents come—it may be one, two, three or four guys—they come as multiple targets. As for the warfighter, he may have to shoot through glass, or he may have to stop a vehicle by putting rounds into its engine block. He may have to do it because he’s closing off an area or he’s at an advantage point or something of that nature. It may be that he needs to take a first and second shot before the target can react. With the XM110 he gets a very accurate weapon that gives him that capability.”