The M25 Sniper Weapon System is a joint venture

precision rifle A sniper rifle is a high-precision, long-range rifle. Requirements include accuracy, reliability, mobility, concealment and optics for anti-personnel, anti-materiel and surveillance uses of the military sniper. The modern sniper rifle is a por ...

built for the

U.S. Army Special Forces The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force of the United States Army. The Green Berets are geared towards nine doctrinal mi ...

and the U.S. Navy SEALs. It was originally developed by the

10th Special Forces Group The 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) (10th SFG (A), or 10th Group) is an active duty United States Army Special Forces (SF) Group. 10th Group is designed to deploy and execute nine doctrinal missions: unconventional warfare (UW), foreign in ...

, based at Fort Devens, Mass., to fulfill a requirement for a sniper rifle based on a

match grade Match grade frequently refers to quality firearm parts and ammunition that are suitable for a competitive match. Sometimes it also refers to other devices and parts that are made with high precision in mind. Description In firearms, the term is ...

M14 that satisfied the requirements of the Army Special Forces and the Navy SEALs. SOCOM called the rifle the "Light Sniper Rifle", and it is also known as the "Sniper Security System" and "Product Improved M21"."U.S. Army & U.S. Navy M25 & XM25 Sniper Weapon System"
, snipercentral.com The commercial version has been named "White Feather" in honor of Carlos Hathcock, the

U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through co ...

sniper who became famous during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. (The enemy called him "White Feather" because he wore a white feather on his hat to taunt enemy troops hoping to collect a large bounty for his death or capture offered by the enemy.) The M25 is similar in many ways to the M21. It has a National Match M14 barrel in a McMillan glass bedded

fiberglass Fiberglass ( American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cl ...

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, uses a special gas piston, a National Match spring guide and a Brookfield Precision Tool Advanced Scope Mounting System. Most rifles use the

Bausch & Lomb Bausch + Lomb is an eye health products company based in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the world's largest suppliers of contact lenses, lens care products, pharmaceuticals, intraocular lenses, and other eye surgery products. The compan ...

10× Tactical scope; some use scopes made by

Leupold & Stevens Leupold & Stevens, Inc. is an American manufacturer of telescopic sights, red dot sights, binoculars, rangefinders, spotting scopes, and eyewear located in Beaverton, Oregon, United States. The company, started in 1907, is on its fifth generatio ...

, including the Ultra Mark 4 M1, Ultra Mark 4 M3, and Vari X-III LR M3.

Suppressor A silencer, also known as a sound suppressor, suppressor, or sound moderator, is a muzzle device that reduces the acoustic intensity of the muzzle report (sound of a gunshot) and muzzle rise when a gun (firearm or air gun) is discharged, b ...

s for use with this rifle are manufactured by OPS. The M25 is not a replacement rifle for the M24 Sniper Weapon System; it was designed to fill a specific need for accurate fire beyond the range of a standard-issue carbine and has been used from the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

onwards as the Designated Marksman's Rifle (DMR). As the DMR, the M25 gives either the sniper's spotter or a squad-level marksman a long-range rifle that can be fired at a faster rate than a sniper's bolt-action rifle.

References

External links

M25 at SniperCentral
{{ModernUSInfWeaponsNav 7.62×51mm NATO semi-automatic rifles Sniper rifles of the United States Military equipment introduced in the 1990s