Canadian elite special forces sniper makes record-breaking kill shot in Iraq

[Independent voter]

That's like 2 miles away! Ten seconds to reach the target.





https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...ticle35415651/



A sniper with Canada’s elite special forces in Iraq has shattered the world record for the longest confirmed kill shot in military history at a staggering distance of 3,450 metres.

Sources say a member of Joint Task Force 2 killed an Islamic State insurgent with a McMillan TAC-50 sniper rifle while firing from a high-rise during an operation that took place within the last month in Iraq. It took under 10 seconds to hit the target.


“The shot in question actually disrupted a Daesh [Islamic State] attack on Iraqi security forces,” said a military source, who stressed the operation fell within the strictures of the government’s advise and assist mission. “Instead of dropping a bomb that could potentially kill civilians in the area, it is a very precise application of force and because it was so far way, the bad guys didn’t have a clue what was happening.”

Read more: New mission against Islamic State won’t include sending troops to Syria: Sajjan

Read more: Ottawa lays out $62-billion in new military spending over 20 years

The kill was independently verified by video camera and other data, The Globe and Mail has learned.

“Hard data on this. It isn’t an opinion. It isn’t an approximation. There is a second location with eyes on with all the right equipment to capture exactly what the shot was,” another military source said.

A military insider told The Globe: “This is an incredible feat. It is a world record that might never be equalled.”

The world record was previously held by British sniper Craig Harrison, who shot a Taliban gunner with a 338 Lapua Magnum rifle from 2,475 metres away in 2009.

Previously, Canadian Corporal Rob Furlong had set the world record in 2002 at 2,430 metres when he gunned down an Afghan insurgent carrying an RPK machine gun during Operation Anaconda.

Weeks before, Canadian Master Cpl. Arron Perry briefly held the world’s best sniper record after he fatally shot an insurgent at 2,310 metres during the same operation. Both soldiers were members of the 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.

JTF2 special forces are primarily tasked with counterterrorism, sniper operations and hostage rescue. Much of the information about this elite organization is classified and not commented on by the government. The unit’s snipers and members of Canadian Special Operations Regiment, who are carrying out the main task of training Kurdish forces, have been operating in tough conditions in Iraq.

The Trudeau government pulled CF-18 fighter jets out of Iraq in 2016 but expanded the military mission, which will see the number of Canadian special forces trainers climb to 207 from 69 in an assist, train and advise mission. Canadian commandos are not supposed to be involved in direct combat, but are authorized to go up to the front lines on training missions with Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and to paint targets for coalition air strikes.

For operational security reasons, sources would not reveal the names of the elite Canadian sniper and his partner, nor the location where the action took place.

A sniper and his observer partner are often sent to remote and dangerous locations to hunt down insurgents while having to carry heavy equipment. Once they have located the target, snipers follow the same methodical approach before each shot. Breathe in, out, in, out, find a natural pause and then squeeze the trigger.

Canada has a reputation among Western military forces for the quality of its snipers, despite the small size of the Canadian Armed Forces compared to the United States and Britain.

“Canada has a world-class sniper system. It is not just a sniper. They work in pairs. There is an observer,” a military source said. “This is a skill set that only a very few people have.”

The skill of the JTF2 sniper in taking down an insurgent at 3,450 metres required math skills, great eyesight, precision of ammunition and firearms, and superb training.

“It is at the distance where you have to account not just for the ballistics of the round, which change over time and distance, you have to adjust for wind, and the wind would be swirling,” said a source with expertise in training Canadian special forces.

“You have to adjust for him firing from a higher location downward and as the round drops you have to account for that. And from that distance you actually have to account for the curvature of the Earth.”

U.S. Sergeant Bryan Kremer has the longest confirmed sniper kill shot by a U.S. soldier. He killed an Iraqi insurgent with his Barrett M82A1 rifle at 2,300 metres in 2004.

[Deleted]

No special forces disclose such information.

[Deleted]

Sorry, eh?

[Rendark]

That's cool if true.

[Stelio Kontos]

[Heladys]

Heh, I remember when 2430 was the new record. Good to see the boys still rocking it.

[Theinquisition]

That's like 2 miles away! Ten seconds to reach the target.





https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...ticle35415651/



A sniper with Canada’s elite special forces in Iraq has shattered the world record for the longest confirmed kill shot in military history at a staggering distance of 3,450 metres.

Sources say a member of Joint Task Force 2 killed an Islamic State insurgent with a McMillan TAC-50 sniper rifle while firing from a high-rise during an operation that took place within the last month in Iraq. It took under 10 seconds to hit the target.


“The shot in question actually disrupted a Daesh [Islamic State] attack on Iraqi security forces,” said a military source, who stressed the operation fell within the strictures of the government’s advise and assist mission. “Instead of dropping a bomb that could potentially kill civilians in the area, it is a very precise application of force and because it was so far way, the bad guys didn’t have a clue what was happening.”

Read more: New mission against Islamic State won’t include sending troops to Syria: Sajjan

Read more: Ottawa lays out $62-billion in new military spending over 20 years

The kill was independently verified by video camera and other data, The Globe and Mail has learned.

“Hard data on this. It isn’t an opinion. It isn’t an approximation. There is a second location with eyes on with all the right equipment to capture exactly what the shot was,” another military source said.

A military insider told The Globe: “This is an incredible feat. It is a world record that might never be equalled.”

The world record was previously held by British sniper Craig Harrison, who shot a Taliban gunner with a 338 Lapua Magnum rifle from 2,475 metres away in 2009.

Previously, Canadian Corporal Rob Furlong had set the world record in 2002 at 2,430 metres when he gunned down an Afghan insurgent carrying an RPK machine gun during Operation Anaconda.

Weeks before, Canadian Master Cpl. Arron Perry briefly held the world’s best sniper record after he fatally shot an insurgent at 2,310 metres during the same operation. Both soldiers were members of the 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.

JTF2 special forces are primarily tasked with counterterrorism, sniper operations and hostage rescue. Much of the information about this elite organization is classified and not commented on by the government. The unit’s snipers and members of Canadian Special Operations Regiment, who are carrying out the main task of training Kurdish forces, have been operating in tough conditions in Iraq.

The Trudeau government pulled CF-18 fighter jets out of Iraq in 2016 but expanded the military mission, which will see the number of Canadian special forces trainers climb to 207 from 69 in an assist, train and advise mission. Canadian commandos are not supposed to be involved in direct combat, but are authorized to go up to the front lines on training missions with Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and to paint targets for coalition air strikes.

For operational security reasons, sources would not reveal the names of the elite Canadian sniper and his partner, nor the location where the action took place.

A sniper and his observer partner are often sent to remote and dangerous locations to hunt down insurgents while having to carry heavy equipment. Once they have located the target, snipers follow the same methodical approach before each shot. Breathe in, out, in, out, find a natural pause and then squeeze the trigger.

Canada has a reputation among Western military forces for the quality of its snipers, despite the small size of the Canadian Armed Forces compared to the United States and Britain.

“Canada has a world-class sniper system. It is not just a sniper. They work in pairs. There is an observer,” a military source said. “This is a skill set that only a very few people have.”

The skill of the JTF2 sniper in taking down an insurgent at 3,450 metres required math skills, great eyesight, precision of ammunition and firearms, and superb training.

“It is at the distance where you have to account not just for the ballistics of the round, which change over time and distance, you have to adjust for wind, and the wind would be swirling,” said a source with expertise in training Canadian special forces.

“You have to adjust for him firing from a higher location downward and as the round drops you have to account for that. And from that distance you actually have to account for the curvature of the Earth.”

U.S. Sergeant Bryan Kremer has the longest confirmed sniper kill shot by a U.S. soldier. He killed an Iraqi insurgent with his Barrett M82A1 rifle at 2,300 metres in 2004.

Canadian special forces, along with British, are extremely professional and fantastic at what they do. If I remember correctly, the longest sniper shot in history is held by a Canadian Sniper.

[Zelk]

This weird celebration of death is creepy

[Independent voter]

This weird celebration of death is creepy

It's the skill required. If you've made a basket with a basketball from the free throw line, and then you walked to the other side of the court and made a basket, that's more impressive. If you then wen't to the other side of town threw the basketball and made a basket that's even more impressive, at least to those of us who've tried to hit targets far away, maybe 100 meters or more.

I assume it was a bad guy who died so that's okay.

[Aeula]

Now we need to beat it again.

[Theinquisition]

This weird celebration of death is creepy

We celebrate the death of men who would throw gays off buildings, perform honor killings on their sisters, mothers, and wives, stone women to death..etc etc.

[Very Tired]

Did he at least do a 360 and fire without using the scope?

[kasuke06]

SNIP

And I now know what tennisace yanks it to.

Side note: That's one hell of a shot.

[GreenJesus]

Did he at least do a 360 and fire without using the scope?

^^ that + midair from jumping off a helicopter.

[Vankrys]

question

Do modern sniper rifle have some sort computerized processing that help the shooter compensating for the distance, the Coriolis effect, the wind, or is it just a scope and the experience of the sniper?

another one. Do bullet travel faster or slower than sound. Did the victim even heard a bang? (assuming you can hear at 3 km, which you may not).

i genuinely know nothing about military gun, or guns in general.

[Hiricine]

This weird celebration of death is creepy

I always like it when people who would kill me die, I wish we could have one giant weird celebration for all of them dying.

[Ghostpaws]

question

Do modern sniper rifle have some sort computerized processing that help the shooter compensating for the distance, the Coriolis effect, the wind, or is it just a scope and the experience of the sniper?

i genuinely know nothing about military gun, or guns in general.

They usually use a Kestrel to gather wind, temperature, and barometric pressure, alongside a pair of rangefinders such as Vector IV's to gather range/bearing/altitude differences. They then use something such as an ATragMX ballistic calculator to input all this data and the data of the particular weapon they are firing. You can even store data on multiple targets at once on the calculator, which helps a ton in times where you need to act quickly. This isn't to say they aren't capable without these tools, but they obviously make it more reliable.

[artemishunter1]

We celebrate the death of men who would throw gays off buildings, perform honor killings on their sisters, mothers, and wives, stone women to death..etc etc.

I am curious why you did not put killing MEN on the list? Are people especially evil if they kill women and protected pets of the liberals? Really think of the way you wrote the statement, these people have killed off all the men of the "non muslims". Yet, you did not consider it heinous enough to include in your list. I am not suggesting you consciously left them out. Because I KNOW you did not, it did not even occur to you. What does it say about the society you are in and were born in?

[purebalance]

And I now know what tennisace yanks it to.

Side note: That's one hell of a shot.

Actually he/she is probably torn. On the one hand it's Canada making a record. On the other hand it's Canada killing the people Tennisace loves.

[Stelio Kontos]

I am curious why you did not put killing MEN on the list? Are people especially evil if they kill women and protected pets of the liberals? Really think of the way you wrote the statement, these people have killed off all the men of the "non muslims". Yet, you did not consider it heinous enough to include in your list. I am not suggesting you consciously left them out. Because I KNOW you did not, it did not even occur to you. What does it say about the society you are in and were born in?

You're really gonna redirect a topic about a Canadian military sniper taking out an ISIS fighter and make it about the plight of the modern western male?