The 21st Century Sniper

Twenty-first-century sniping tactics by Navy SeAL military sniper Brandon Webb.

The sniper is a battlefield threat second to none. Mastering the art of marksmanship is critical but is only part of what makes a Navy SEAL sniper. Snipers must be able to apply the craft in an urban environment or alone on a hostile mountain top with equal effectiveness. Today’s sniper must not just leverage technological advances but also have the foreknowledge to select the best rifle and gear for the mission. Increasingly, he must have the mental toughness to adapt to a constantly changing environment, gather intelligence, and truly act as a force multiplier. In this comprehensive look through the eyes of former Navy SEAL sniper instructor Brandon Webb and fellow Navy SEAL snipers Chris Kyle and Glen Doherty, the authors reveal not just the fundamentals of marksmanship but also the science of shooting, stalking, and camouflage and how technological advances have changed the training and increased the effectiveness of the modern sniper. Including maritime, helicopter, and urban sniper operations, this updated edition also goes into detail on the latest research, development, testing, and evaluation of weapons and optics. From the basics like compensating for wind and bullet drop, to camouflage and placing yourself or your team in the best position to take a photo or pull a trigger, Webb and Doherty cover the critical elements that comprise the twenty-first century sniper.

The sniper is a battlefield threat second to none. Mastering the art of marksmanship is critical but is only part of what makes a Navy SEAL sniper. Snipers must be able to apply the craft in an urban environment or alone on a hostile mountain top with equal effectiveness. Today’s sniper must not just leverage technological advances but also have the foreknowledge to select the best rifle and gear for the mission. Increasingly, he must have the mental toughness to adapt to a constantly changing environment, gather intelligence, and truly act as a force multiplier. In this comprehensive look through the eyes of former Navy SEAL sniper instructor Brandon Webb and fellow Navy SEAL snipers Chris Kyle and Glen Doherty, the authors reveal not just the fundamentals of marksmanship but also the science of shooting, stalking, and camouflage and how technological advances have changed the training and increased the effectiveness of the modern sniper. Including maritime, helicopter, and urban sniper operations, this updated edition also goes into detail on the latest research, development, testing, and evaluation of weapons and optics. From the basics like compensating for wind and bullet drop, to camouflage and placing yourself or your team in the best position to take a photo or pull a trigger, Webb and Doherty cover the critical elements that comprise the twenty-first century sniper.

The years since 9/11 have seen major changes in the way snipers are employed on the modern battlefield, alongside an incredibly rapid evolution in their weapons, equipment and training. This book covers the 14 years of near-constant warfare since the dawn of the 21st century, documenting where, when and how snipers have been deployed; their rifles, optics and their ancillary equipment such as laser range finders; their training and tactics and accounts of real-life operations involving sniper teams. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have reaffirmed the importance of snipers in both conventional and unconventional warfare, and this new study covers these developments in depth, as well as looking at the role of the sniper in police and counterterrorism environments.

As a SEAL sniper and combat veteran, Webb was tapped to revamp the U.S. Naval Special Warfare (SEAL) Scout/Sniper School, incorporating the latest advances in technology and ballistics software to create an entirely new course that continues to test the skills and even the best warriors. In this revealing new book, Webb takes readers through every aspect of this training, describing how Spec Ops snipers are taught each dimension of their art. Trainees learn to utilize every edge possible to make their shot--from studying crosswinds, barometric pressure, latitude, and even the rotation of the Earth to becoming ballistic experts. But marksmanship is only one aspect of the training. Each SEAL's endurance, stealth and mental and physical stamina are tested and pushed to the breaking point. Webb also shows how this training plays out in combat, using real-life exploits of the world's top snipers, including Jason Delgado, who led a Marine platoon in the Battle of Husaybah and made some of the most remarkable kill shots in the Iraq War; Nicholas Irving, the U.S. Army Ranger credited with thirty-three kills in a single three-month tour in Afghanistan; and Rob Furlong, who during Operation Anaconda delivered the then-longest kill shot in history. During Webb's sniper school tenure, the course graduated some of the deadliest and most skilled snipers of this generation, including Marcus Luttrell (Lone Survivor), Adam Brown (Fearless), and Chris Kyle (American Sniper). From recon and stalk, to complex last minute adjustments, and finally the moment of taking the shot, The Killing School demonstrates how today's sniper is trained to function as an entire military operation rolled into a single individual--an army of one.

Explosive, revealing, and intelligent, The Red Circle provides a uniquely personal glimpse into one of the most challenging and secretive military training courses in the world. Now including an excerpt from The Killing School: Inside the World's Deadliest Sniper Program BEFORE HE COULD FORGE A BAND OF ELITE WARRIORS... HE HAD TO BECOME ONE HIMSELF. Brandon Webb's experiences in the world's most elite sniper corps are the stuff of legend. From his grueling years of training in Naval Special Operations to his combat tours in the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan, The Red Circle provides a rare and riveting look at the inner workings of the U.S. military through the eyes of a covert operations specialist. Yet it is Webb's distinguished second career as a lead instructor for the shadowy "sniper cell" and Course Manager of the Navy SEAL Sniper Program that trained some of America's finest and deadliest warriors-including Marcus Luttrell and Chris Kyle-that makes his story so compelling. Luttrell credits Webb's training with his own survival during the ill-fated 2005 Operation Redwing in Afghanistan. Kyle went on to become the U.S. military's top marksman, with more than 150 confirmed kills. From a candid chronicle of his student days, going through the sniper course himself, to his hair-raising close calls with Taliban and al Qaeda forces in the northern Afghanistan wilderness, to his vivid account of designing new sniper standards and training some of the most accomplished snipers of the twenty-first century, Webb provides a rare look at the making of the Special Operations warriors who are at the forefront of today's military.

A technical outline of the history of the sniper rifle, from its introduction in warfare during the Napoleonic wars, through the US Civil War to its current apogee as the most frequently used combat rifle in Iraq and Afghanistan. This book details the development of ammunition, different weapons types including single shot, magazine loading and semi-automatic, as well as the introduction and use of optical sights. Martin Pegler, a leading expert on the history of sniping and former Senior Curator of Firearms at the Royal Armouries Leeds, also details the current advances in technology, such as laser range-finding sights and night vision devices. Using first-hand accounts, the book brings the dangerous world of the sniper to life revealing their training and concealment techniques as well as their mastering of their weapon of choice.

A gritty, no-holds-barred, behind-the-scenes memoir of life as one of the world's top snipers Sniper Elite takes readers inside the closed world of the elite Special Forces sniper, detailing the dark art of sniping and touching on the history of the world's greatest marksmen. As one of Australia's most highly trained and successful combat marksmen, Rob Maylor tells the story of his years on the front lines, from his early service with the Royal Marines in Northern Ireland to action in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he was involved in some of the heaviest fighting in the conflict. He also chronicles his near-death experience in a Blackhawk helicopter that crashed off Fiji, killing two of his friends, and how he would walk for hours, sometimes days, through hostile country until he found the right position. Then, when the moment was right, he aimed-and with absolute precision, put the bullet just where it was going to have the most effect. Filled with dark humor and the almost-religious sense of brotherhood within such an exclusive group of warriors, this is an explosive and revealing combat memoir-and an inside look at the shadowy world of the modern sniper. "Maylor toured the world, enduring surprisingly grueling exercises from the Arctic to the jungle...training, horseplay and nuts-and-bolts military minutiae along with the usual fireworks." -Kirkus Reviews This edition of the book is the deluxe, tall rack mass market paperback.