The
AWM (
Arctic Warfare Magnum) is a
sniper rifle manufactured by
Accuracy International. It is also known as the
AWSM (
Arctic Warfare Super Magnum) (usually meaning the
.338 Lapua Magnum chambered version).
Overview
The AWM is a variant of the
British Accuracy International Arctic Warfare (AW). It has a longer bolt to accommodate larger calibre ammunition such as
.300 Winchester Magnum and
.338 Lapua Magnum
This rifle is based on the AW with minimal changes to accommodate magnum-length cartridges. It features a detachable
box magazine which holds five rounds. The normal cartridges for this rifle, and the ones which have been accepted by NATO for use in AWM rifles, are .300 Winchester Magnum and .338 Lapua Magnum.
Muzzle brakes are fitted to reduce recoil, jump and flash and act as a base for optional
iron sights and suppressors.
Normally, the AWMs are outfitted with a
Schmidt & Bender PM II 10x42
telescopic sight with 10x fixed power of magnification. However, a Schmidt & Bender PM II with variable magnification of either 3-12x50 or 4-16x50 can be used if the operator wants more flexibility to shoot at varying ranges, or when a wide field of view is required.
The AWM rifle is normally supplied in a metal transit case together with scope, mount, butt spacers, bipod, spare magazines, sling, cleaning and tool kits.
[edit] Magnum calibres
[edit] .300 Winchester Magnum
The
.300 Winchester Magnum offers a flatter trajectory, and a significant increase in wind resistance and supersonic range over the
7.62 × 51 mm NATO cartridge. Despite the cartridge's greatly increased muzzle velocity, it delivers greater precision than ordinary 7.62 × 51 mm NATO ammunition and is only slightly eclipsed by the best match-grade 7.62 × 51 mm NATO ammunition. This significantly enhanced range and precision ensures high first-shot hit probability to well beyond 1,100 m using standard .300 Winchester Magnum match grade ammunition. For precision shooting
Federal Gold Medal Match is the most commonly used ammunition.
[citation needed]
The AWM chambered for the .300 Winchester Magnum is fitted with a fluted, stainless steel barrel that is 660 mm (26") long for optimum velocity and nominal weight.
338 Lapua Magnum
A Dutch
ISAF sniper team displaying their Accuracy International AWSM .338 Lapua Magnum rifle and
Leica/Vectronix VECTOR IV rangefinder binoculars
The AWM in the .338 Lapua Magnum calibre was designed as a dedicated long range sniper rifle combining the manoeuvrability of rifles chambered in 7.62 × 51 mm NATO with the greater power and range of the
.50 BMG cartridge.
Compared to most .50 calibre rifles, the AWSM offers considerably less rifle weight, recoil, muzzle flash, smoke and report. Although the .338 Lapua Magnum delivers less energy to the target compared with the .50 BMG, both cartridges have similar trajectories, resistance to wind drift and penetration, while the .338 Lapua Magnum unquestionably outperforms the 7.62 × 51 mm NATO, especially at ranges beyond 800 m. AWSM rifles in .338 Lapua Magnum can also be deployed against unarmoured hard targets, including armoured glass.
The AWSM is fitted with a stainless steel, fluted, 686 mm (27") barrel, which research has found to be the best compromise between velocity and precision on the one hand, and weight and length on the other.
A problem with the early batches of AWSM rifles was that cartridges loaded to the
CIP (Commission Internationale Permanente Pour L'Epreuve Des Armes A Feu Portative) maximum allowed overall length of 93.5 mm did not function properly due to a lack of internal magazine length. The reason for this problem is that the AWSM bolt-action is not specifically designed for the fat and long .338 Lapua Magnum cartridge. Because of this, ammunition manufacturers produced batches of specially specified .338 Lapua Magnum cartridges for the early AWSM rifles that where short enough to fit in the early AWSM magazines. With those specially specified .338 Lapua Magnum cartridges the early AWSM rifles could be used as repeating rifles instead of single shot rifles. Later this magazine problem was solved by Accuracy International.
[3]
Ammunition types currently (2007) available for the .338 Lapua Magnum are
FMJ,
hollow point,
Armour Piercing (AP) and Armour Piercing Incendiary (API).
The AW rifle on which the AWM is based is in service with many countries. The AWM is in service with many police and military units throughout the world.
[edit] Defence forces
[edit] British Army
Royal Marines with L115A1 rifles
The
British Army adopted the AWSM rifle chambered in
.338 Lapua Magnum as the
L115A1. The British AWSM rifles are outfitted with Schmidt & Bender 3-12x50 PM II
telescopic sights. They also employ sniper rifles chambered in the standard
7.62 × 51 mm NATO round like the early PM rifle designated as the
L96A1. The L96A1's replacement, the AW version (designated as the
L118A1), has seen service in recent conflicts such as
Operation Granby and
Operation Telic.
The AWSM in .338 Lapua Magnum is currently (2007) in service with the British Army and
Royal Marines in Afghanistan and Iraq.
[edit] German Army
G22 with
suppressor, telescopic sight and night vision unit "Nachtsichtvorsatz 80" (NSV80)
Since 1998 the
Bundeswehr fields an AWM-F chambered in
.300 Winchester Magnum (7.62 x 67 mm in Bundeswehr nomenclature), with a 3-12x56 SSG
telescopic sight made by the German company
Zeiss, under the designation of
G22 (for
Gewehr 22) or
Scharfschützengewehr 22 (
snipers rifle 22). The German G22 rifles have folding stocks and emergency iron sights. For their G22 rifles the Bundeswehr claims an effective range of 1,100 m.
Metallwerk Elisenhütte Nassau (MEN) has specially developed 7.62 x 67 mm ammunition for the G22.
Zeiss 3-12x56 SSG reticle
The
Carl Zeiss Optronics telescopic sight has a
mil-dot reticle and a scale that enables the operator to see the dialled in elevation setting through the rifle scopes ocular. The Bundeswehr 3-12x56 SSG telescopic sight differs somewhat from the further developed 3-12x56 SSG-P telescopic sight depicted in the Zeiss brochure. The Bundeswehr telescopic sight has no parallax setting option and the range scale has a setting range from 0 to 10 instead of 0 to 11 symbolizing the 11.2 milliradian elevation adjustment range shown in the current (2006) Carl Zeiss Optronics 3-12x56 SSG-P telescopic sight brochure.
[edit] Netherlands Armed Forces
The AWSM chambered in .338 Lapua Magnum has been introduced from 1997 by the
Dutch Army’s
Korps Commandotroepen snipers and the 11th Air Mobile Brigade reconnaissance patrols and long range marksmen. Recently (2007) the snipers of the
Netherlands Marine Corps also received this sniper rifle. The Dutch AWSM rifles are outfitted with Schmidt & Bender 3-12x50 PM II
telescopic sights. The
Military of the Netherlands claim a maximum effective range of 1400 m for their AWSM rifles.
[edit] Norwegian Special Forces
The snipers in
Marinejegerkommandoen and
Forsvarets Spesialkommando are currently using the L115A1 as their primary weapon, chambered in
.300 Winchester Magnum, with Schmidt & Bender scopes.
