Bron: Task & Purpose
The Army has released photos of soldiers testing a next-generation thermal sniper rifle optic that will purportedly triple the range of existing options. The Army’s Program Executive Office Soldier in late February tweeted out photos of a “sneak peek” at the service’s new Family of Weapon Sights-Sniper (FWS-S) affixed to the top of M107 and M2010 Enhanced Sniper Rifle systems.
“FWS-S is currently in the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) Phase of Acquisition,” PEO Soldiers spokesman Justin Sweet said. “The Army has not released any public information concerning FWS-S fielding since the systems are still developmental.”
The FWS-S thermal sensor, which is designed to provide snipers with thermal imagery in all weather conditions, “extends lethality for snipers to 1,800 meters, three times longer than the 600-meter capability provided by an image intensified system,” according to the Army. Designed to mount in-line with a sniper’s day optic on the M107, M2010, and M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System and Compact Semi-Automatic Sniper System, the service calls the FWS-S “the first clip-on thermal weapon sight specifically developed and fielded by the Army for the sniper community.”
While the FWS-S has been in the EMD phase of the acquisition process for five years, the new photos of the system flexing its muscles on the range comes amid a sweeping revamp of the Army’s sniper capabilities. According to the Army, the new FWS-S will also affix to the top of the MRAD once it’s adopted under the PSR program, although service officials did not offer a target fielding date for the FWS-S when queried by Task & Purpose.