M2010 Enhanced Sniper Rifle

M2010 Enhanced Sniper Rifle
The M2010 Enhanced Sniper Rifle
Type	Sniper rifle
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	2011–present
Used by	See Users
Production history
Designed	2010
Manufacturer	Remington Arms
Produced	2010–2014
Number built	2,558
Specifications
Weight	12.1 lb (5.5 kg)
Length	46.5 in (1,180 mm)
Barrel length	24 in (610 mm)
Cartridge	.300 Winchester Magnum
Action	Bolt-action
Effective firing range	1,300 yd (1,200 m)
Feed system	5-round detachable box magazine

The M2010 Enhanced Sniper Rifle (ESR), formerly known as the XM2010 and M24 Reconfigured Sniper Weapon System, is a sniper rifle developed by PEO Soldier for the United States Army. It is derived from the M24 Sniper Weapon System and replaced the existing M24s. After winning a competitive bidding process, Remington was awarded the production contract for up to 3,600 weapons. The Army had anticipated fielding upgraded weapons to deployed U.S. Army Snipers near the end of December 2010, but later expected fielding would happen in January 2011.

The M2010 system differs from the prior M24 Sniper Weapon System in that it fires .300 Winchester Magnum ammunition to provide approximately 50 percent additional effective range relative to the M24's 7.62×51mm NATO. This chambering to dimensionally larger cartridges is possible because the M24 Sniper Weapon System was designed to use the "long action" bolt version of the Remington 700 receiver for cartridges up to 3.34 inches (84.84 mm) in overall length.

The U.S. Army developed the system so that the additional effective range would help snipers in engagements in mountainous and desert terrain in which the War in Afghanistan was being fought. The general penalties for using bigger, more powerful magnum rifle ammunition compared to smaller, standard rifle cartridges are increases in recoil, jump, flash, weight, and barrel wear.

The M2010 Enhanced Sniper Rifle differs from 7.62×51mm NATO chambered M24 Sniper Weapon System in that M2010 sniper weapons are:

According to Remington Arms each rifle is tested to meet (and typically exceeds) the requirement to fire ≤ 1 MOA/0.28 mrad (less than a 2-inch shot group at 200 yards) before being released for fielding.

In 2009 the U.S. government purchased MK 248 MOD 1 .300 Winchester Magnum match-grade ammunition for use in .300 Winchester Magnum sniper rifles like the U.S. Navy Mk13 SWS or reconfigured M24 SWSs. This ammunition was developed as a .300 Winchester Magnum Match Product Improvement (PIP) and uses the 14.26 g (220 gr) Sierra MatchKing Hollow Point Boat Tail (HPBT) very-low-drag bullet fired at a nominal muzzle velocity of 869 m/s (2,850 ft/s) ± 15.2 m/s (50 ft/s). According to the U.S. Navy this ammunition should increase the maximum effective range of .300 Winchester Magnum sniper rifle systems to 1,370 m (1,500 yd), decrease wind deflection on bullets in flight and use a reduced muzzle flash propellant that remains temperature stable across an operational temperature range of -32 °C to 74 °C (-25 °F to 165 °F). According to JBM Ballistics, using the G7 ballistic coefficient provided by Bryan Litz, and a Weapon Employment Zone (WEZ) analysis of the XM2010 rifle with various .300 Winchester Magnum ammunition types by Bryan Litz, the MK 248 MOD 1 .300 Winchester Magnum cartridge, when fired at its nominal muzzle velocity of 869 m/s (2,850 ft/s), should have 1,286 to 1,289 m (1,406 to 1,410 yd) supersonic range under International Standard Atmosphere conditions at sea level (air density ρ = 1.225 kg/m³).