Iran Produces New Armor-Piercing Sniper Guns

[Drizzt]

Iran Produces New Armor-Piercing Sniper Guns
17:20 Mar 01, '05 / 20 Adar 5765

(IsraelNN.com) Iran has begun to produce heavy machine-guns with armor-piercing bullets, Iranian state television reported today. Iranian Defence Minister Ali Shamkhani said the 12.7-millimeter gun has a range of 2.5 kilometers and is suitable for snipers.

"The United States had protested to a European country about selling the gun [to Iran], while we have already produced it," Shamkhani said. "Today the first consignment of the weapon was delivered. Now our snipers can target the enemy in their armored personnel carriers and concrete bunkers."

The gun weighs 35 pounds and can be mounted on a vehicle. There is widespread concern that the guns will reach the hands of Hizbullah and other terror groups.

Iran also produces the Shihab-3 missile, capable of reaching Israel, its own brand of tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles and even a fighter plane.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=77700

 

[Langenator]

So, apparently the Russians sold them the machinery to make .50 cals.

The Russians have had .50 cal HMGs since WWII at least, and have sold tons of them to the Iranians and other not so nice countries.

 

[hso]

I'd rather have precison weapons that weigh in excess of 30 lbs and are over half their body length be the "fashion" with terrorists than explosives.

(Yes, I know that it's another tool in their tool box adding a capability that they didn't have before and that it unfortunately won't stop the use of explosives. )

 

[armoredman]

12.7mm is 50 cal....Iran has a freakin' NUCLEAR program! They are a soveriegn nation, (even if they do deserve to be stomped flat), and have thier own arms industry, which is probably capable of making 100 year old machine guns! Heck, a garage hobbyist here can put together an 80% 50 rifle kit. Talk about your non-issues!

 

[Bear Gulch]

The could have just dusted off the old Mauser destroyers from WWI.

 

[41mag]

Aren't these likely the 50cals that Steyr sold them.Discussed here a few weeks ago?

http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=124843&highlight=boycott+steyr

 

[Nitram68]

Great, just great....

 

[Sam Adams]

BFD. Any of us could go buy a .50, then go online to get surplus .50 cal. AP ammo, or just the bullets for reloading. Iran is a freakin' country, and they're bragging about this capability? Again, BFD.

Oh, and when we eventually invade those hostage-taking ragheads, we won't be in concrete bunkers. To (approximately) quote General Patton: "Fortifications are monuments to the stupidity of Man. If oceans and mountain ranges can be overcome, anything built by Man can be overcome." We've got capabilities that Patton could only dream of, and lots of experience in using them.

 

[Brett Bellmore]

That's SO impressive... Any country with industry above the level of knapping flint is capable of manufacturing "heavy machineguns with armor piercing bullets".

This is some kind of revelation?

 

[Bear Gulch]

2500 meters I dount that you can hit any particular mansized target with any regularity.

 

[Joejojoba111]

Russian rifles and ammo are only useful +-300m. They don't make match grade cartridges in 12.7, and I'm not sure their rifles would be sniper-accurate with match ammo anyways, if they weren't designed for it.

I think what the article says is something different, though:

Iran has an HMG that weighs less than half of what other countries do? They can put a scope on it and snipe (been done since Hathcock in Vietnam).

I don't really have anything against Iran, in fact I like that TV show Monk - but that article is bull????. HMGs can be accurate, if finely tuned, but shooting 2500m with one sounds like a pipe dream. Canadian snipers in Afghanistan set the world record at just over 2000m, with bolt-action McMillan bros (soldier of fortune mag).

The rifle or MG, whatever it is, sounds sub-par. But the bullet, the bullet sounds interesting, and they don't say anything about it! Seriously the reporter for that isreal news agency ought to put the bong down and proof-read their stuff.