Designated marksman

US Marine Corps Designated Marksman, armed with what appears to be an M14 rifle with a telescopic sight and pistol grip.

The Designated Marksman (DM) is a military marksman role in a U.S. infantry squad. The term sniper is used in Soviet and Russian doctrine. The analogous role in the Israeli army is "squad sniper."

The DM's role is to supply rapid accurate fire on enemy targets at ranges up to 800 meters (875 yd) with a highly-accurate semiautomatic rifle equipped with a telescopic sight. Like snipers, DM's are trained in quick and precise shooting, but unlike the more specialised "true" sniper, they are also intended to lay down accurate rapid fire.

Difference from snipers

Main article: Sniper team

Roles

• Snipers work either independently or temporarily attached to another unit.
• Designated marksmen are integral members of regular infantry squads or platoons, much like machine-gunners or grenadiers.

Weapons

• Snipers are usually equipped with purpose-built bolt-action or semi-automatic sniper rifles.
• DM's are usually equipped with accurized battle rifles or assault rifles.

Ranges

• Snipers are mainly employed for targets at ranges of up to 1,400 metres (1,530 yd), when using a rifle chambered with standard-issue rifle ammunition.
• DM's are mainly employed for targets at ranges of up to 800 meters (875 yd).

Mobility and position

• Snipers usually take a fixed strategic position and camouflage themselves (e.g. with a Ghillie suit).
• DM's usually change positions with their squad, and may or may not have more camouflage gear than other infantrymen.

Weapons

As the DM role fills the gap between a regular infantryman and a sniper, the so-called designated marksman rifles (DMRs) are also designed with this middle ground in mind. These rifles have to be effective—in terms of accuracy and terminal ballistics—at ranges exceeding those of assault rifles (typically up to 500 m / 550 yd or more), but do not require the extended range of a dedicated sniper rifle (typically up to 1,000 m / 1,100 yd or more).

Characteristics

Characteristics shared with sniper rifles:

• Telescopic sight

Characteristics shared with assault rifles:

• Semi-automatic fire capability, which is generally more rapid than bolt-action sniper rifles.
• Larger magazine capacity of 10 rounds to 30 rounds.

The most common option is to modify an existing battle rifle or assault rifle with the addition of the following:

• Telescopic sight
• Bipod
• Adjustable stock (adjustable cheek-piece aids in the use of a telescopic sight).

Battle rifle adaptation

File:M21-Sniper-Rifle-LeftView.jpg

M21 adaptation of M14

In this context, "battle rifles" refer to automatic rifles of 7.62 x 51 mm caliber such as the M14, FN FAL, HK417 or Heckler & Koch G3. These were replaced during the 1960's and 1970's by assault rifles using the less-powerful (but more controllable in full-automatic fire) 5.56 x 45 mm NATO cartridge such as the M16 and SA80.

These battle rifles are more suitable for adaptation to DM rifles than assault rifles for the sole reason of their more powerful cartridge.

Examples of battle rifle adaptations:

• U.S. Army M21 adaptation of M14
• U.S. Marine Corps Designated Marksman Rifle (DMR) adaptation of M14
• G3SG/1 variant of Heckler & Koch G3

Assault rifle adaptation

This is an easier and less-expensive option for many armies, because existing assault rifles can be adapted, often by merely adding a telescopic sight. These modified rifles retain the original chambering in the relatively less-powerful assault rifle cartridges, ensuring ammunition commonality within the squad.

Examples of assault rifle adaptations using the 5.56 x 45 mm NATO cartridge:

• United States Army Squad Designated Marksman Rifle (SDM-R) adaptation of the M16
• U.S. Marine Corps Squad Advanced Marksman Rifle (SAM-R) adaptation of the M16
• M16A2E3 variant of M16.
• United States Navy Mark 12 Mod X Special Purpose Rifle heavily-modified M16.
• MSSR Modified M16 in use by the Philippine Marine Scout Snipers.
• British Army L86A2 LSW - after the introduction of the FN Minimi as a section LMG it is now used as a DMR. It required no modification as the longer, heavier, free-floating barrel and existing optical sight give it the required accuracy.
• Steyr AUG HBAR-T - a longer, heavier-barreled version of the AUG.
• Canadian armed forces C7CT and C8CT DM variants - modified Colt Canada C7A1/C8A1 series rifles and considered interim systems.

Examples of assault rifle adaptations using the 7.62 x 39 mm cartridge:

• Tabuk Sniper Rifle adaptation of Kalashnikov M70 assault rifle

A more effective (but more expensive) solution is to modify the assault rifle to use a more powerful cartridge with a heavier barrel and other components.

Examples of rechambered assault rifle adaptations:

• Galatz Sniper Rifle (7.62 x 51 mm) variant of IMI Galil
• SR-25, loosely based on Stoner AR-10

Purpose-built rifles

• The Dragunov (SVD) is one example of a rifle designed from the outset to meet the requirement now known as "designated marksman rifle".
• The Dragunov SVU, a bullpup variant of the SVD.
• The Romanian PSL is a designated marksman rifle based on a modified Kalashnikov action. It is similar in appearance to the Dragunov.
• The Heckler & Koch HK417 rifle in the 508 mm (20 in) long barreled "sniper variant" is intended for designated marksman purposes.
• The Chinese QBU-88 is a designated marksman rifle intended for aimed semi-automatic fire at ranges beyond the capabilities of standard infantry assault rifles.
• The Yugoslavian Zastava M76 is a designated marksman rifle based on a modified Kalashnikov action. It is similar in appearance to the Dragunov and is designed for the 7.92 x 57 IS (8mm Mauser) chambering. It has also been chambered in 7.62×51 NATO and 7.62 × 54R for export.
• The Serbian Zastava M91 is a designated marksman rifle based on a modified Kalashnikov action. It is similar in appearance to the Dragunov and is chambered in 7.62 × 54R.

Worldwide use

British Army

Recently, the role of the Light Support Weapon has been used in the Designated Marksman role due to its increased range of up to 800m as an individual weapon. While also capable of giving accurate automatic fire, this is usually delivered by the Minimi.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF)

SR-25 rifle

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) implemented significant changes to sharpshooting doctrine in the 1990s. Doctrine, training program, and courseware were completely rewritten and snipers were issued the bolt-action M24 SWS instead of the M14 rifle. A major change was the introduction of a new battle profession – the designated marksman (קלע סער, "kala saar" in Hebrew) – intended to improve the accuracy and firepower of an infantry platoon and compromise between the role of a sniper and an assault rifleman. These soldiers were generally called "squad snipers" to describe their role. They are armed with SR-25 rifle and sharpshooter variations of the M16A2E3 and M4 Carbine.

United States Marine Corps

The U.S. Marines uses M14s which are rebuilt at Quantico Marine Corps Base and designated as U.S. Marine Corps Designated Marksman Rifles. The Corps also utilizes an adaptation of the M16 assault rifle, the U.S. Marine Corps Squad Advanced Marksman Rifle (SAM-R).

United States Army

The U.S. Army uses a modified M16 which is accurized in a manner similar to the SAM-R, designated the United States Army Squad Designated Marksman Rifle (SDM-R).

United States Air Force

The U.S. Air Force uses a standard M4 Carbine with an ACOG instead of the standard M68.

United States Navy

The United States Navy SEAL Teams employs SDM rifles in roughly the same manner as the Marine Corps and Army, although there is no specific "Designated Marksman" role in a SEAL platoon. Known used weapons include, but are not limited to, the Mk 14 Mod 0 Enhanced Battle Rifle, M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System, MK11/SR-25, the MK12 Mod X, the much elusive "SEAL Recon Rifle" and in some cases even regular M14 Rifles fitted with optical scopes.

Soviet snipers

Main article: Soviet sniper

Although referred to as "snipers", the Soviet Union and its allies have since World War II employed specially-equipped and trained "sharpshooting" soldiers at a section ("squad") level to increase the range of their section to 800 meters (870 yd). This is commonly accepted as the first example of what came to be known as a designated marksman as opposed to a true sniper.

Since 1963 these soldiers have been equipped with the Dragunov (or "SVD") rifle that shares all the characteristics typical of a designated marksman rifle (Semi-automatic fire, telescopic sight, chambered for standard military rifle cartridge).

See also

Related military roles

• Soviet sniper, the Soviet equivalent of a Designated Marksman.
• Sniper, more specialised military marksmen.

Rifles

• Dragunov Sniper Rifle
• M21, the scoped and accurized version of the M14.
• United States Army Squad Designated Marksman Rifle
• U.S. Marine Corps Designated Marksman Rifle
• U.S. Marine Corps Squad Advanced Marksman Rifle
• United States Navy Mark 12 Mod X Special Purpose Rifle
• SR-25, designed by Knight's Armament Company

References

• FM 3-22.9, RIFLE MARKSMANSHIP M16A1,M16A2/3,M16A4 and M4 CARBINE - see Chapter 7, Section VII, "Squad Designated Marksman Training"