More on Steyr-Mannlicher Sniper Rifles

Here's the latest information on the HS50 Steyr-Mannlicher .50 caliber sniper rifles, Austrian made, sold to Iran, and now being used in Iraq against American soldiers. According to the deal, the buyer was Iran's federal police force, specifically a special anti-drug unit and were to be used in fighting the drug trade, smugglers and dealers. (Speigel Online)

You can read my previous article on these sniper rifles here.

Wolfgang Fürlinger, the CEO of Steyr-Mannlicher at the time, made a public effort to downplay the dangers of the weapon, claiming that the HS .50 was less harmful than a pistol. He also insisted that the Iranian government had signed a so-called end-user certificate that ruled out the re-export of the guns. [snip]

Peter Pilz, a Green Party member of the Austrian parliament and his party's spokesman on security issues, even went so far as to call the deal "illegal." ... Pilz argued that HS .50 was not a "toy weapon," as many had claimed, but that the rifle was in fact capable of piercing armor-plated vehicles and body armor from great distances. The HS .50, according to Pilz, hardly seemed designed for use in fighting the drug trade. Speigel Online

At a cost of more than $15.5 million (nearly $20,000 per rifle), you can bet Iran knew the capability of these weapons. You may wonder how we know that the rifles found used against Americans in Iraq are the same rifles sold by the Austrian company to Iran. It's the serial numbers:

A standard practice among Western weapons manufactures is to mark a rifle with its serial number in several locations -- not only the frame but also the bolt and barrel -- and this is the practice at Steyr-Mannlicher. Such marking is especially important for sniper rifles, which are machined to precise tolerances -- a professional would want to keep the bolt and the barrel with the original rifle. Grinding the serial numbers off would negatively affect the accuracy of the rifle.

The Steyr HS.50s found in Baghdad have been traced through Iran back to the 2005 Austrian deal with the National Iranian Police Organization, presumably by using discernable serial numbers on the weapons. (StratFor.com)

Just so we are clear on the damage these sniper rifles can do, Strategic Forecast tells us (hat tip Dan in the Desert):

The .50-caliber round is powerful enough to punch through not only the Enhanced Small Arms Protective Inserts (E-SAPI) -- the armored plates worn by U.S. troops -- but also much of the light armor of U.S. vehicles. Iran also appears to have supplied armor-piercing incendiary rounds, which are even more destructive once they get inside the cramped compartments of vehicles. The armor-piercing incendiary rounds would also wreak havoc with a low-flying helicopter if it could actually be struck in-flight.

The Steyr HS.50 and other rifles of its kind are designed to engage targets at thousands of yards. Of course, a rifle is only as good as the marksmanship training of the person holding it. World-class snipers are the product of intensive training, something Iraqi insurgents noticeably lack (there are running jokes within U.S. military units about how terrible Iraqi marksmanship is). That said, a weapon like the Steyr HS.50 used to engage targets at 100 to 300 yards in a dense urban environment has a much larger margin of error and is devastating at such close ranges. Moreover, it is a single-shot, bolt-action rifle more accurate than the semi-automatic M82A3 Barrett .50-caliber sniper rifle used by U.S. forces. In the right hands, the HS.50 is capable of a minute of angle beyond 1,600 yards (a measurement amounting to phenomenal accuracy).

There is no doubt in my mind that Iran is working against the United States in Iraq. But I'm not discouraged. The new surge has already had much success with new cooperation from the Iraq Government and many terrorists leaving the country.

Unrelated:

I encourage you to go visit Layla at The HILL Chronicles. She has written "Why I could not become a Muslim", which is her life story living in the Middle East to an Egyptian Muslim husband. Go read it.

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Comments

[Debbie]

NightStalker: I appreciate your comments. It's good to hear from boots on the ground.

This situation with the rifles was always very strange to me.

I hate to hear how accurate the snipers are, that's very bad news.

We pray for all of you, for your safety, for your success, for your victorious return home.

Please keep in touch. You can comment here on any post or email me if you like.

[Nightstalker]

By the way we are not joking about how bad the enemy snipers are here. They have made several good, not unbeleivable shots at us from what we beleive to be a good distance.About 25 guys from my unit have been bit hit and 2 of them killed. It is not a running joke with some of us. Never lose respect for your enemy.

[Nightstalker]

I am serving in Iraq and proudly own an HS50. I have even been on the recieving end of enemy sniper fire. I do not see what the big deal is about. They know they messed up if its even true. I t was an accident. Alot more of my buddies have died from enemy fire from weapons that were supplied to Iraq during the the Iraq and Iran war or in Afghanistan against Russia from the United States. This is a game the US government knows all to well.

[john]

check out the Steyr web site they say that none of there wepons have been found in the terrorist hands. I would forward this you have posted but do not know how!!!!!!!!!!

[Debbie]

Rusty, you say "politics and soldiering don't mix." You are so correct. We saw this in Viet Nam and we are seeing it today. The media think they need to know everything, and we seem to be catering to them. Some things need to be kept quiet. The military has one job, fight and beat the enemy. I wish we would let them do that.

Thanks again for the update.

Keep in touch.

[Rusty Scalf]

The initial announcement by DOD was that 100 of these rifles were found in a cache, and that their serial numbers proved they had come from Iran. They also said this particular weapon was implicated in the killing of 170 coalition soldiers. Steyr-Mannlicher very quickly responded that they had never been approached about serial numbers and these are not in the public domain. Attempts by them to discuss the subject with DOD, get those serial numbers, etc were met with silence. At a press conference perhaps two months later, a DOD representative finally said they had no concrete proof of any such weapons in Iraq at all.

This makes me very sad. I grew up in a military household. Their tradition has always been to speak the truth or say nothing. No one could ever blame them for silence. I get the strong sense that they've been corrupted in this regard. Dad always said, politics and soldiering don't mix. When he was a young solder, most of his colleagues didn't even vote; Not out of apathy, but from a spirit of service to whoever was in charge. I certainly don't think soldiers should stay away from the polls; But how I wish for a return to that spirit.

[Debbie]

Rusty, thanks for pointing that out. I must be more tired than I thought.

The Press Release states:

"It is a fact that Steyr Mannlicher agreed three years ago to deliver a shipment of HS.50 rifles to Iran for legitimate and important law enforcement purposes - to equip drug interdiction forces patrolling that nation's borders with Afghanistan and Turkey.

In case these rifles should have been used in any other way it would constitute a break of that agreement.

The US central command has, however, made it clear in a press statement that earlier rumours of that type could not be confirmed (see interview with Lieutenant Commander Scott Miller in Wiener Zeitung cited at www.steyr-mannlicher.com ). "

So if I'm reading this correctly, the rifles were purchased by Iran and they were shipped to Iran. No question about that.

The statements that they were being used in Iraq is what Central Command is backing away from.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I have not seen anything in the media, I must have missed it, or it is not being publicised as it should be.

Thanks again.

[Rusty Scalf]

Steyr-Mannlicher statement:

The links to their final statement are in German and English, both in bold red font.

[Debbie]

Rusty Scalf, that link goes to the Steyr-Mannlicher website. I didn't see any statement. Maybe I missed it. Either way, this was not a story made up by the DOD, this was fact. Of course the company would deny it.

[Rusty Scalf]

Apparently the story was a DOD fabrication. See the Steyr-Mannlicher statement:

http://www.steyr-mannlicher.com/index.php?id=4&L=1

[Stefan]

This sick guy calls us (austria) "enemys" http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2007/02/should_americans_boycott_austr.html

Oh god, the US will invade autria soon... We´d better look for nukes like the iran. They know why...
But we have the better guns and soon the better fighter jets. For goodness we dont have oil like the middle east

[Debbie]

Thanks everybody, and Flanders Fields, thanks for leaving the link to your place. The first one didn't work for some reason it was a typekey link to your profile, but it didn't go through. I'm checking out your article now.

[franz kaffka]

If there where no illegal terroristic US_invaders in Iraq, they could not been killed by excellent Austrian weapons (better than US-Army M82A3 Barett 50 calibre.)
It would be better for american tourists to visit the mess USA made in Iraq than to visit Austria.

[Flanders Fields]

I checked and the link to my site is not working. To add to my earlier comment, the address is: http://myflandersfields.blogspot.com/2007/02/austria-and-iran-kill-us-troops.html

[Flanders Fields]

The rifles are available for under $5,000. each and sold for nearly $20,000. I wonder who in Austria benefits from the spilling of American and British blood? I give a good idea as to whom at my site and I have linked the story to yours for supplemental information. I am new here, but will be back. You are doing a great job and have excellent information in an attractive site.

[jimmyb]

$20,000?
Wow.
Must be some weapon for that price.
But as noted, only as useful as the guy firing it.

[Angel]

Thanks for the link and have a great Sunday!..:)

[bernie]

I linked to you from Dinner, Tuxedos, and the Eiffel Tower, Excerpt: I was living in a dorm in the Place Pigalle, the notorious Red Light district of Paris. When I wasn't in school, I would sit in cafes and absorb local color, browse through book stores or museums or catch a movie at the cinema. These usually turned out to be American flicks dubbed in French with English sub-titles.

from http://plancksconstant.org/blog1/2007/02/dinner_tuxedoes_and.html

[Butch]

Debbie,

TypePad is currently giving trackbacks that captcha error.

I'll attempt to tb throughout the evening.

[Carl]

I know a lot of deer hunters around here that would love to get their hands on one of those to use on their outings in the woods.