Deadliest Sniper Rifles Used By Indian Army: 1947-Present

Which quality will make you the most deadliest sniper in the world?

Patience, but How?

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You may have to wait several hours or days in a place to shoot down the enemy. So check your patience level and grab the knowledge from this article carefully and patiently.

Recently, the Indian army has inducted the Finland origin Sako .338 TRG-42 sniper rifles deployed troops along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir. 

But about three years ago, the soldiers deployed at the Line of Control (LoC) were handed over Italy origin Beretta .338 Lapua Magnum Scorpio TGT and US origin Barrett .50 caliber M95 sniper rifles. And the up-gradation of the Russian Origin Dragunov sniper rifle inducted into the Indian army in 1963 had also started in October 2020.

What Is a Sniper Rifle?

The Sniper rifle is a highly accurate, long-range rifle. It was more accurate, reliable, portable, and concealable than a standard rifle.

The modern sniper rifle is chambered for a high-ballistic performance centerfire cartridge and fitted with a telescopic sight for extreme accuracy. It is a portable shoulder-fired weapon system with a choice between bolt-action or semi-automatic action.

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1. Lee Enfield .303 No 4 Mark 1(T) 

The legendary Lee-Enfield is a British origin bolt-action, magazine-fed, repeating rifle. The Lee Enfield rifle was invented by James Paris Lee in the Royal Small Arms Factory (RSAF) of Enfield town in 1895. During the first half of the 20th century, different variants of the Lee Enfield rifle were used by the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth. And the different SMLE (“Short, Magazine, Lee–Enfield”) variants of this rifle were used in WW1 as a service rifle. 

The manufacturing of an SMLE rifle was very expensive. So multiple experiments were conducted in the 1920s to reduce complex parts and refine manufacturing processes. And the nomenclature of SMLE rifles was also changed to the Rifle No. 1 Mk III or III* type rifles in 1926.

Rifle No. 4 Mark 1 was similar to the Rifle No. 1 Mark VI, and after the addition of a wooden cheek rising-piece and mounts a No. 32 3.5× telescopic sight, No. 4 Mark 1 was converted into a No. 4 Mark 1(T) Sniper rifle[ T denote Telescopic].

Specifications:-

Specifications:-

Past Uses Of Lee Enfield .303 

1. It helped the Britishers to defeat the Germans in the 2 World War.
2. It was used by Lawrence of Arabia to capture Aqaba.
3. In 1919, It was used to shoot down the innocent Sikhs in the Jallianwala bagh massacre.

While in the 1960s the Indian Army replaced the Lee Enfield SMLE MK III* variant of its service rifle with semi-automatic 7.62 mm Ishapore 2A and L1A1 SLR rifles but no changes were made to the old sniper rifle system. And for the next 30 years, the Indian Army continued to use Lee Enfield .303 No 4 Mark 1(T).

Then in 1990, the old sniper rifle was replaced by the Dragunov SVD-63 sniper rifle.

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2. Dragunov SVD 

The Dragunov SVD (SVD stands for “Snayperskaya Vintovka Dragunova”) is a Gas-operated, rotating bolt designated marksman rifle (DMR) or sniper rifle designed by Yevgeny Dragunov in 1963 and manufactured by Kalashnikov Concern. SVD is a semi-automatic 7.62×54mmR rifle developed in the Soviet Union.

Difference between DMR vs Sniper rifles

A designated marksman rifle (DMR) is a rifle that is used by infantrymen in the designated marksman (DM) role to fill the range gap between a service rifle and a sniper rifle. It is a modern scoped high-precision rifle that has a range of around 400–800 meters.

So the Designated Marksman Rifle (DMR) can be used as both a sniper rifle and a regular assault rifle. And a sniper rifle can play the role of a Designated Marksman Rifle (DMR).

Why Does The Indian Army Want To Upgrade (Dragunov Sniper Rifle) DSRs?

The Indian Army is procuring high-precision rifles with modern scopes But is also upgrading older Dragunov sniper rifles for these reasons.

• The barrel of the DSR can fire more than 7000 rounds, but the new rifles find it hard to reach 3000 figures. It’s an indication of a long life.
• DSRs are not very effective as a sniper rifle, but as a designated marksman rifle (DMR), it is still a decent rifle today. The Indian Army uses DSRs also as a designated marksman rifle (DMR). The Indian Army is buying new and modern sniper variants for long-range targeting with an effective range of 1.2 km or more. And if he has 500m to 800m intermediate target range combat in terms of ammunition, it will prove to be very expensive and cost-inefficient.
• The Indian Army uses a large number of DSRs. And the Russian officials said that the old 4 DSRs can be upgraded for future operations at the cost of buying 1 new sniper rifle of this class. So if the Indian Army purchases new DMR rifles instead of upgrading old Dragunov, it’s very costly.

Specifications:-

Past Uses Of Dragunov Sniper Rifle

1. The Russian Army is using the latest variant of Dragunov to invade Ukraine.
2. When Russia fought the First and Second Chechen War to capture the Republic of Chechen, then the Russian Army used Dragunov.
3. The Indian Army defeated the Pakistani Army with Dragunov Sniper rifle in the 1999 Kargil war.

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3. IMI Galil 7.62 Sniper

IMI Galil is a family of Israeli-made Gas-operated, rotating bolt, fully-automatic rifles designed by Yisrael Galil and Yakov Lior in the late 1960s, and manufactured by Israel Military Industries (IMI). 

Initially, the IMI Galil rifle came in 3 basic configurations that were named the Automatic Rifle Machine-gun (ARM), the Automatic Rifle (AR), and the Short Automatic Rifle (SAR). 

The Galil sniper used by the Indian Army is a derivative of the Automatic Rifle Machine-gun (ARM) configuration. The first Galil sniper was developed in 1983. It is a semi-automatic sniper rifle that comes with 7.62×51mm NATO ammunition for constant accuracy.

In 2002, 200 Galil Snipers were bought by the Indian government from Israel Military Industries (IMI). Now, The Punj Lloyd Raksha Systems makes these snipers for Indian Armed Forces under license. IMI Galil is the standard-issue sniper rifle for (Special Forces) SF like The Garud commandos, Special frontier force, and Marcos commandos.

The Galil snipers are also being used by the Indian Army and the covert RAW unit.

Specifications:-

Past Uses of IMI Galil

1. The counter-terrorism special force of Ukraine “Omega” uses IMI Galil’s Sniper variant.
2. IMI Galil is being used by the Rajneeshpuram peace force of the US. 
3. Nepal has about 2000 Galil rifles that are used by special forces and ranger battalions.

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4. Heckler & Koch PSG1

The PSG1 is a german-origin semi-automatic sniper rifle. It was designed in 1968 by the German company Heckler & Koch. The PSG1 is produced by the German company Heckler & Koch itself and SEDENA (licensed). Production of PSG1 sniper rifles began in 1972 and ended in 2014. 

The PSG 1 Sniper rifle comes in 3 variants: PSG1A1, MSG90, and MSG90A1. The first one is a pure sniper rifle, and the remaining both are designated marksman rifles (DMR). The PSG1A1 is the latest version of PSG1 that was introduced in 2006.

Specifications:-

The PSG1A1 is being used by the National Security Guard, MARCOS, Indian Army, Greyhounds, and OCTOPUS (police special forces of Andhra Pradesh) units also use this rifle. The PSG1 Rifles came into the Indian hands first time through service with RAW’s Special Group in the early 1980s. 

Past Uses of PSG1 & Its Variants

1. The first use of PSG1 was seen in Operation Black Thunder in May 1988 by NSG Commandos.
2. In the 2008 Mumbai terrorist siege, PSG1A1 (upgraded version) was operated once again by the NSG’s SAG army commandos.
3. In the 1999 Kargil War, PSG1 was used by the MARCOS commandos.

5. Steyr SSG 69 Sniper Rifle

The Steyr SSG 69 is an Austria-made bolt-action sniper rifle designed and produced by Austrian company Steyr Mannlicher. Production of Steyr SSG 69 sniper rifles began in 1969 and ended in 2015. The Steyr SSG 69 Sniper rifle comes in 3 variants: SSG 69 PI, SSG 69 PII, and SSG 69 PIV. SSG 69 is a standard-sniper rifle of the Austrian Army. It is also used by several law enforcement organizations.

Specifications :-

The SSG 69 is being used by the BSF, ITBP, and COBRA(CRPF). 

Past Uses of SSG 69

1. SSG 69 sniper rifle is used by Saudi Arabia in Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen, Saudi–Yemeni border conflict (2015–present).
2. It is also used by the Syrian army in the Syrian Civil War and the Lebanese army in the Lebanese Civil War.

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6. Mauser SP66 Sniper Rifle

The Mauser SP66 is a german-origin rotating bolt manual sniper rifle designed and produced by the German company Mauser. The Mauser SP66 is based on the Mauser’s Model 66 bolt-action rifle.

After the terrorist attack on the Israeli Players at Munich Olympics in 1972, Mauser developed a military and police sniper version of the model 66 called the Mauser SP 66 sniper rifle.

The production of SP66 sniper rifles began in 1976 and ended in the mid-1980s. In 1985 the SP66 sniper rifle was upgraded to Mauser 86SR.

Mauser SP66 Sniper is used as long-range sniping by the Indian army.

Specifications:-

7. Sig Sauer SSG 3000

The SSG 3000 is a german-origin bolt-action magazine-fed sniper rifle chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges designed and produced by the German company Sig Sauer. The production of SSG 3000 sniper rifles began in 1992 and is still produced.

SSG 3000 Sniper is used as long-range sniping by the NSG Commandos.

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8. Beretta Scorpio TGT

The Beretta Scorpio TGT is an Italy-made sniper rifle that uses a .338 Lapua Magnum (8.6×70 mm or 8.58×70 mm) rimless, bottlenecked, centerfire rifle cartridge. This sniper rifle was purchased as an effective kill range from 1,500 to 1,800 meters for the Northern army command of the Indian army for troops deployed along the Line of Control with Pakistan.

Specifications:-

9. Barrett M95 Sniper rifle

The Barrett M95 is a US-origin anti-material sniper rifle that uses a .50 BMG (12.7×99mm) cartridge. This sniper rifle was purchased with Beretta Scorpio TGT rifle as an effective kill range from 1,800 meters for the Northern army command of the Indian army for troops deployed along the Line of Control with Pakistan.

Specifications:-

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10. Sako TRG – 42 Sniper rifle

The Sako TRG is a bolt-action sniper rifle designed and produced by the Finland company Sako. The first variant of Sako TRG is TRG-21/TRG-41 designed in 1989 and produced from 1989 to 1999. And the second variant of Sako TRG is TRG-22/TRG-42 designed in 1999 and produced from 1999 to till date. 

The Sako TRG-22 and TRG-42 were the upgraded variants of the TRG-21 and TRG-41 respectively. The different variants of Sako TRG rifles use different types of cartridges like .260 Remington (TRG-22), 6.5mm Creedmoor(TRG-22 A1), .308 Winchester (7.62×51mm NATO), (TRG-21, TRG-22) .300 Winchester Magnum (TRG-41, TRG-42), .338 Lapua Magnum(TRG-41, TRG-42).

The TRG-22 and TRG-42 rifles were again upgraded by Sako Ltd. in 2018, with a new stock design.

Specifications:-

In India, the Sako TRG-22 and TRG-42 variants are used by Mizoram Armed Police and the Para (Special Forces) respectively.

Past Uses of Sako TRG-42

1. The counter-terrorism Special force of Ukraine “Omega” uses Sake TRG-22 and Special Group “Alpha” is an elite Ukrainian Spetsnaz group.
2. The Sako TRG sniper rifles were used in the Afghanistan War and Iraq War.

So It’s all about the Sniper rifles of the Indian army. However, there are various other sniper rifles operated by the Indian army but they are Anti-material rifles, thus not included in these sniper rifles.

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