The Indian Army has inducted Finish sniper rifles Sako .338 TRG-42 for its soldiers which have been deployed in Jammu and Kashmir along the Line of Control (LoC).
“The latest sniper rifles have been inducted into the army. They are using it now. These are Sako .338 TRG 42 sniper rifles,” a senior official told news agency PTI.
These rifles have an improved range, firepower as well as telescopic sights than those rifles possessed by the enemy combatant, the official further said.
In 2018-2019, the incidents of sniping suddenly increased along both the International Border as well as Line of Control (LoC).
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Such an induction will help the Army in adapting to the changing “operational dynamics” along the Line of Control, the official further said.
Such a predicament resulted in the Indian Army inducting far superior sniper rifles and associated training against such attacks.
The TRG 42 has been designed and developed by Finish Gunmaker Sako.
These rifles weigh around 6.55 kg (without ammunition) and have a firing range of 1500 metre.
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“It is considered one of the most accurate and trustworthy weapons worldwide,” the official further said.
The TRG-42 has been designed to fire .338 Lapua Magnum-Sized cartridges.
These rifles will replace .338 Lapua Magnum Scorpio TGT rifles from Italy and the 0.50 Calibre M95 rifles by Barett from the US.
These two rifles were inducted in the Indian Army in 2019 and 2020. They had replaced the Russian Dragunov.
The Dragunovs had an effective fire range of 800 m and were the mainstay of the Indian Army for sniping activities since the 1990s. They were manufactured by JSC Kalashnikov Concern.
To operate the rifles, the Indian Army has assembled a team of 10 snipers which has been selected from the Army’s units and regimental centres for the duty, PTI quoted the official as saying.
