Sniper Rifle Market - Growth, Trends, and Forecast (2020 - 2025)

In terms of Range, the 'Beyond 1,000 meters' segment accounted for the largest share in 2019. Militaries across the world prefer sniper rifles that have a long-range of over 1,000 meters. Also, law enforcement agencies in a few countries are procuring rifles with a range of over 1,000 meters, based on mission requirements. For instance, in 2019, the Russian Police placed an order for a batch of ORSIS T-5000 sniper rifles. The National Guards and the Russian federal security service are expected to receive the latest versions of these long-range rifles, intended for anti-terrorist and sniper units, by the end of 2019. The rifle allows hitting targets at over 1.5 km under any weather conditions without prior adjustments. Armed forces of several countries and rifle manufacturers are collaborating in developing advanced sniper rifles with increased range and accuracy. The US Special Operations Command is currently working toward the procurement of advanced sniper rifles under the command's Advanced Sniper Rifle program that is focused on replacing the Precision Sniper Rifle currently fielded by special operations snipers. Countries that are currently facing terrorism threats and tensions across its borders are procuring new sniper rifles to counter long-range threats, which may continue to propel the growth of the segment.

In 2019, the North America region had the largest share in the sniper rifle market. The majority of the demand from North America is generated by the United States. The US defense forces have been a prolific user of sniper rifles since the Vietnam War. The US Army founded the Sniper School in 1987, with the aim to train marksmen. The country deployed snipers extensively during the Iraq conflict, to scout the movements of enemy forces often from very exposed positions. The US military snipers typically operate at ranges between 600 meters and 1,200 meters. Currently, the US Army is planning to upgrade its sniper rifle inventory and expand its capabilities by inducting a new bolt-action Barrett Multi-Role Adaptive Design (MRAD) Mk-21 sniper rifle that can be readily configured to fire any of three different calibers, namely the 7.62x51mm NATO, .300 Norma Magnum, and .338 Norma Magnum, depending on the mission requirements. Additionally, in March 2019, the US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) awarded a USD 50 million contract to Barrett for procuring the MRAD sniper rifles. Such developments are envisioned to drive the business prospects of the sniper rifle market in the United States during the forecast period.