.50-Caliber Sniper Rifles Pose Threat to Civil Aviation

Air Safety Week, Nov 3, 2003

Anti-armor weapon could turn airliners into exploding balls of fire

With all of the attention being devoted to protecting airliners against terrorists armed with shoulder-fired missiles, a more pedestrian but deadlier threat looms - terrorists armed with .50-caliber sniper rifles.

These weapons pack a deadly wallop from ranges upwards of a 1,000 yards. The thumb-size bullets, which come in armor-piercing and incendiary variants, can punch through aircraft fuselages, fuel tanks and engines. Described as "just like bird hunting" when used against aircraft descending for landing, these new high-power sniper rifles pose a particular threat to aircraft on the ground.

Consider this scenario, from inside the cabin of an airliner momentarily halted in a line of aircraft on a taxiway, waiting for the final turn onto the runway for takeoff. Suddenly, a five-inch section of the cabin sidewall panel blows inward as the first .50-caliber slug penetrates the fuselage. The second bullet strikes a passenger seated by a window in the head, spattering adjacent passengers with a bloody spray of bone and brain. Passengers scream. Some pop open the overwing emergency exits while others lunge at the doors in a frantic scramble to get out of the airplane. The third bullet, fired from a different direction by a second sniper team, penetrates the cockpit windscreen, instantly killing the copilot.

The third slug strikes the engine pylon, severing the power feeder cable from the engine generator. The severed wires create massive electrical arcing to structure. The fourth bullet strikes the wing fuel tank. The jet fuel spills out of the hole and is ignited by the sparks of the severed power feeder cable. The landing gear collapses under the burning wing as a smoke-tinged orange fireball climbs into the sky.

The snipers, having wreaked such havoc in less than a minute, turn their attention to the last airplane in line for takeoff. With burning airplanes at both ends of the queue, the snipers then direct their fire at the airport rescue and firefighting (ARFF) vehicles dispatched to the scene.

Sound farfetched? Not according to a 1995 Rand Corp. study of the threat posed by .50-caliber sniper rifles to U.S. Air Force bases. Not according to a 2001 article in Airman, the official Air Force magazine, and not according to a new report by the Violence Policy Center, a Washington, D.C., educational organization that analyzes trends and patterns in firearms violence.

Tom Diaz, author of the report, said, "My concern is that we need to think about the use of ordinary instruments as weapons of terror."

The .50-caliber sniper rifle may stretch the bounds of the term "ordinary," although it is basically a large rifle.

Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda is believed to have obtained two dozen of these weapons on the international arms bazaar, plus night-vision equipment enabling their use in darkness. Various types of ammunition are easily obtainable for a few dollars per shot.

The marketing literature of one manufacturer of these sniper rifles waxes enthusiastic not about the weapon's lethality against big game, but against big airplanes: "The cost-effectiveness of the Model 82A1 cannot be overemphasized when a round of ammunition purchased for less than $10 can be used to destroy or disable a modern jet aircraft."

The Air Force reportedly has developed a cadre of specially trained countersnipers to respond to the threat posed by these weapons to its aircraft, fuel tank farms, control towers and personnel.

The threat to commercial aviation is greater, Diaz asserted, because the ingredients are in place. The weapon exists. It's very likely in the hands of terrorists. Ammunition is readily available. Marksmanship training is even more available through gun clubs than flight training was to the 9/11 terrorists. Moreover, commercial airports are much less protected than Air Force bases. "No countersniper teams lie hidden at the perimeters of America's sprawling and heavily-trafficked commercial airports. In fact, most perimeters are unguarded," he said.

The proliferation of these weapons, a hot item on the commercial gun market, results from what Diaz called "a failure of regulation."

"Under federal law, an 18 year-old cannot buy a handgun from a licensed dealer but can buy a 50-caliber anti-armor sniper rifle," he asserted.

Invented in the early 1980s, the 50-caliber sniper rifle was derived from the .50-caliber machine gun. Intended originally for military purposes, to destroy light armor vehicles, communications vehicles and facilities, helicopters and other aircraft in the air and on the ground, the weapon has since acquired a certain cachet among civilian gun enthusiasts, ostensibly for target shooting. The weapon represents a potent blend of long range and massive power. The .50-caliber sniper rifle can be employed beyond the range of typical small arms defensive fire. In terms of ammunition, users are spoiled for choice. At one website selling ammunition, .50-caliber ammunition is offered in many varieties. Here are three: