It simply amazes me how often organizations, ranging from law enforcement to military – including SF units, struggle with the quest for a “universal” sniper platform. The term “universal” is symptomatic for “…I don’t know what I really need so what I get has to do everything, just in case I do need it.” I suppose that with the unlimited availability of budget dollars from Congress for Base and OCO budgets, during the height of Iraq and Afghanistan, you could get away with that; however, the chickens are coming home to roost and effective immediately you’ll need to account for every dollar spent under increasing scrutiny. The job will still require a variety of tools but the accounting departments and oversight committees will be looking at your capital expenditures with increasing tenacity.
Fortunately, Desert Tactical Arms’ product planning and development was clairvoyant, and when the company developed their modular chassis bullpup system, which allowed the sniper team to configure the sniper platform for any caliber by simply installing the appropriate conversion kit, they solved the eternal struggle between the “I want it to do anything” and “you don’t have the money to do it.”
Expanding on that concept, the company introduced the HTI, Hard Target Interdiction , sniper rifle. Like their SRS and SRS Covert, the HTI consists of a chassis and several conversion kits. Once the initial financial investment is made for the chassis ( $4,800), the organization simply budgets and acquires conversion kits for the desired caliber. Caliber options include .50 BMG, .416 Barret, .408 Cheytac, and .375 Cheytac – all chamberings are capable of 2000+ yard engagements with superb penetration.
In times of austerity this level of flexibility balances operational needs and financial requirements. It achieves all this while delivering on sub minute of angle accuracy, greater compactness and reduced weight. Not too shabby!
If you are unfamiliar with Desert Tactical Arms, I strongly suggest you take that first step.
FOG HORN 