SAS armed with new rifle so powerful it can blast helicopters out of the sky and blow

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Posted for interest. Lots of excitement in the UK over this semi-magical .50 cal but I assume they didn't miss this one on the Canadian prohib list.


SAS armed with new rifle so powerful it can blast helicopters out of the sky and blow apart armour-plated vehicles with one shot

The devastating rifle Gepard GM6 Lynx has been likened to a howitzer cannon

Made in Hungary, semi-automatic rifle has a range of one-and-a-quarter miles

Although it is powerful, £9,000 rifle is easy to carry and ideal for parachuting

By JONATHAN BUCKS FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY

PUBLISHED: 17:00 EDT, 25 September 2021 | UPDATED: 18:08 EDT, 25 September 2021


Special Forces have been armed with a rifle so powerful it can blast helicopters out of the sky and blow apart armour-plated vehicles.

The Gepard GM6 Lynx has been likened to a howitzer cannon for its devastating impact, even though it weighs just 23lb and is less than 4ft long.

Made in Hungary, the semi-automatic rifle has a range of one-and-a-quarter miles, and features a barrel that retracts like an artillery gun back into the body of the rifle to absorb the enormous recoil.

The gun uses a magazine of five .50-calibre Raufoss Mk2 bullets which it can fire in under three seconds

One Special Forces member said: ‘The GM6 is fantastic. It’s like going into battle carrying an artillery piece. The troops call it the Howitzer. It an absolutely massive punch.

'The rounds it fires can stop a truck bomb in its tracks. A team equipped with one of these could take out half a dozen very expensive fighters or helicopters very quickly.’

'Although it is powerful, the £9,000 rifle is easy to carry and ideal for parachuting into the battlefield.

The gun uses a magazine of five .50-calibre Raufoss Mk2 bullets, which it can fire in under three seconds.

The SAS, SBS and the Special Reconnaissance Regiment are believed to have bought 150 of the rifles

The rounds can punch through armour before exploding inside a fuel tank or the interior of an armoured vehicle.

The SAS, SBS and the Special Reconnaissance Regiment are believed to have bought 150 of the rifles.

They have already been deployed in Syria and Iraq. The Ministry of Defence declined to comment last night.


https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10028405/SAS-armed-new-rifle-powerful-blast-helicopters-sky.html?ito=social-facebook&fbclid=IwAR256U2BKH4SzwljmkviB85fVpscu_wTEVhWvows2f_K24f1pdsV_Yeyq-Q
 
It is compact and no doubt lightweight compared, say, to a Barrett, I'll give them that.


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The Mail, not exactly a high quality rag.

A team equipped with one of these could take out half a dozen very expensive fighters or helicopters very quickly.’
Click to expand...

My intelligence took a quick dump.
 
greentips said:
The Mail, not exactly a high quality rag.

My intelligence took a quick dump.
Click to expand...

It is a confused piece of writing, but if you apply your own translation, it is not wrong per say in the anti-material role. It is talking about the SAS employment after all. Like in the Gulf War, when small teams of US and SAS guys were running / driving around behind Iraqi lines hunting Scuds and such. Get a team close to an airfield, and it is certainly possible to disable aircraft and helicopters on the ground with a little bit of standoff capability afforded by a 50 cal.
 
Shooting a helicopter out of the sky? Pretty difficult unless hovering. You would need to be calculating drop and lead for an fast moving target that range would be changing.
 
JBD said:
Shooting a helicopter out of the sky? Pretty difficult unless hovering. You would need to be calculating drop and lead for an fast moving target that range would be changing.
Click to expand...

Whoever said that to the reporter probably means taking out aircrafts sitting out on the airfield, not as an AA weapon, like Kelaa said. In that aspect, it is correct that it can be used to put aircraft out of action.
 
I've actually had the chance to shoot one of these a fair bit- tons of fun. The recoil is very mild compared to an M107A1 or any of the manual-action .50's and the balance/length are such that it can be comfortably be fired offhand as well. Definitely an impressive gun, but still just a .50 BMG, not a wunderwaffe as the writer suggests.
 
Only 9,000 pounds . If the CAF was to purchase these they'd be $30,000.00 each to Colt Canada with 20 years and 30 design modifications until delivery .
 
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