Army to buy sniper simulators to train sharp shooters

To procure the simulators, the Army's Infantry School at Mhow in Madhya Pradesh has issued a tender (Request For Proposal in defence parlance) which would be finalised within the next three months to acquire the system soon, Defence Ministry officials said here on Sunday.

"The simulator should enable training of a sniper so as to assist him to fire with a realistic feel of all types of ammunition authorised with it, steel core and sniper load," the RFP said.

The qualitative requirement for the simulator is that it should provide for the sniper to fire on stationary and moving targets at different simulated ranges from 100 metres to 1,300 metres.

It should be simple to operate, sturdy and robust with a modular design and should not be dependent on air conditioning.

The simulator should enable target depiction using camouflage and concealment of the target should be possible, as also capable of projection by a Video Projection System on a screen during indoor training.The actual tactical and combat situations should be depicted in different kinds of terrain available, with multiple target depiction possible simultaneously to enable a firer to prioritise the targets and engage using multiple weapons.

The simulator, the RFP said, should have programmes to project different terrain situations such as mountains with heights upto 9,000 feet, jungles, high altitude areas with heights ranging from 9,000 feet to 19,000 feet, built-up urban and rural areas, plains and deserts.

Trainee snipers should be able to practice firing both during day and night conditions, bad weather like rain, fog and snow.

The system should take into account the effects of wind and ballistic properties of the ammunition authorised, and also show the flight path of the round fired and percentage of error committed when the shot misses the target.