Anti-Materiel Rifle
Specifications
- Type
- Heavy Rifle
- Origin
- Germany / United States
- Era
- World War I – present
- Notable Users
- Military snipers and EOD teams worldwide
- Epoch
- Modern Age
History
The anti-materiel rifle is a large-caliber, long-range precision rifle designed to destroy equipment, vehicles, and fortifications rather than personnel (though it is devastatingly effective against both). The Mauser 1918 T-Gewehr, firing a 13.2mm round, was developed to penetrate the armor of World War I tanks. The modern Barrett M82, chambered in .50 BMG (12.7x99mm), can engage targets at ranges exceeding 1,800 meters and penetrate light armored vehicles, aircraft on the ground, radar installations, and improvised explosive devices. The weapon’s massive recoil is managed through muzzle brakes and semi-automatic recoil-operated actions.
Significance
One soldier, one rifle, one round, and a radar installation or parked helicopter ceases to exist from nearly two kilometers away. The anti-materiel rifle is the outer limit of what a single person can carry and shoot. There is nowhere left to go from here without wheels.
More from the Modern Age
12 weapons
54 Weapons. Five Epochs. One Poster.
The Anti-Materiel Rifle is one of 13 weapons from the Modern Age featured on the poster.
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