Direct proof of use
Sniper rifles are documented in the 2001 War in Afghanistan through U.S. Army and museum records covering fielding, deployment, and operational employment. National Defense reported that when the war began, the U.S. Army bought 50 XM107 long-range sniper rifles for Army Special Operations units and the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, and that additional XM107 rifles were fielded to selected units fighting in Operation Enduring Freedom.
The U.S. Army later documented Task Force Fury snipers at Forward Operating Base Salerno receiving the XM110 semi-automatic sniper system in April 2007. The same report identified the soldiers as the first in a combat zone to receive the new sniper rifle and described training on the system in Afghanistan.
The M2010 Enhanced Sniper Rifle provides a later direct-use example. A U.S. Army account says M2010-equipped sniper teams used the rifles in summer 2011 to provide overwatch and precision fire during recovery operations at a Chinook crash site, and that the Army completed M2010 fielding and new equipment training for all Army sniper teams operating in Afghanistan by June 2011.
Sources: War Prompts Urgent Requests for Sniper Rifles, Snipers in Afghanistan Receive New Weapon, Snipers Put Finishing Touches on the Last Sniper Rifle
Timeline
In the opening phase of the war, U.S. forces accelerated fielding of the XM107 .50-caliber sniper rifle. National Defense reported in May 2003 that the Army had purchased an initial 50 XM107 rifles as the Afghanistan war began and that selected units in Operation Enduring Freedom continued receiving the weapon.
In April 2007, Task Force Fury snipers trained with XM110 rifles at Forward Operating Base Salerno. The Army article describes the XM110 as a semi-automatic sniper system intended to improve rate of fire and allow faster re-engagement compared with bolt-action rifles such as the M24.
British and U.S. long-range sniper systems were also documented later in the campaign. The National Army Museum records an L115A3 rifle in a sangar in Afghanistan in 2008 and states that British Forces deployed the L115A3 in Afghanistan in spring 2008. The U.S. Army records M2010 fielding to Army sniper teams in Afghanistan by June 2011 and a summer 2011 mission in which M2010 teams fired from mountain overwatch positions against enemy combatants.
Sources: War Prompts Urgent Requests for Sniper Rifles, Snipers in Afghanistan Receive New Weapon, L115A3 Sniper Rifle in a Sangar, Snipers Put Finishing Touches on the Last Sniper Rifle
Fielding and role
The sources support U.S.-led and NATO-side use rather than a single standardized rifle type. The documented examples include the Barrett XM107 for very long-range fire, the XM110 semi-automatic sniper system for rapid re-engagement, the British L115A3 long-range rifle, and the U.S. M2010 Enhanced Sniper Rifle developed from urgent Afghanistan requirements.
Within the sourced incidents, sniper rifles served precision fire, overwatch, and force-protection roles. National Defense reported special operators in Afghanistan employing XM107 rifles against Taliban fighters, the Army linked the XM110 to combat-zone sniper teams at Salerno, and the M2010 account describes sniper teams covering a recovery mission from mountain overwatch positions.
The public record used here separates fielding from confirmed firing. The XM107 and XM110 sources document procurement, deployment, and combat-zone fielding; the M2010 source documents both Afghanistan-wide fielding and a specific mission where sniper teams fired on enemy combatants. The L115A3 record documents British deployment and photographic presence in Afghanistan, not a named firing incident.
Sources: War Prompts Urgent Requests for Sniper Rifles, Snipers in Afghanistan Receive New Weapon, L115A3 Sniper Rifle in a Sangar, Snipers Put Finishing Touches on the Last Sniper Rifle
