According to unclassified information provided to firearms industry representatives, Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) (well, a 'a command within SOCOM') was looking for a takedown precision rifle which would fit in a very compact case, be capable of being assembled quickly and delivering very accurate fire without re-zeroing. It also had to meet unspecified, but fairly predictable, requirements for sound suppression, compatibility with both existing and proposed accessories, reliability and ruggedness.
Technically, the U.S. Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office (CTTSO) was the government organisation
which released a BAA to the firearms industry in November 2011, but Leigh Neville'
Guns of Special Forces 2001-2015 states that JSOC had started looking for a Clandestine Sniper Rifle / Clandestine Break-Down Rifle with the
exact same technical requirements in 2010. As the Tier 1 Special Mission Units (SMU) under JSOC are exactly the end users one would have guessed had these requirements (along with CIA SAD/SOG), I find that assertion credible enough.
It looks like some or all of the
McMillan Alias CS5,
DRD Tactical Paratus P762,
Remington CSR and
Surgeon CSR rifles were designed to try to meet the JSOC requirements. No doubt other manufacturers also expressed interest and may even have participated in the selection proccess.
I have found no solid evidence, either way, on whether JSOC has made an ultimate decision yet. Unlike SOCOM contracts, JSOC contracts or discretionary unit purchases aren't published. There
are sometimes credible rumours, most often quasi-verified by recent pictographic evidence of what appear to be Tier 1 unit operators (as evidenced by their other equipment) carrying the weapons that were rumoured to have been acquired. It's that sort of rumours I'm hoping for from forumites.
Nor do I know if JSOC plans to eventually acquire a dozen rifles or hundreds, though I can make a guess that any more than a couple of hundred would be implausible, considering how comparatively few operators there are in the Tier 1 SMUs under JSOC and that necessarily only a subset of them will be sharpshooters, snipers or covert infiltration specialists who might have a need for a weapon with such a narrow operational niche.
There are, however, several signs that the selection proccess has come far enough for there to be rifles in operational use with units under JSOC. And, obviously, the fact that several companies are seeking commercial sales for what appear to be their entries into the JSOC trials suggests that the trials may have ended.
Rumours from the end of 2016 suggest that the Remington CSR might have been acquired, possibly because of parts and accessories commonality with the Remington PSR, which was acquired SOCOM-wide as a sniper rifle.
At the very least, reports from Tampa, Florida are that some unspecified shooters from an unrevealed unit falling under SOCOM (which is
usually code for CAG/Delta or other JSOC Tier 1 SMUs) were demonstrating Remington CSR take-down rifles to USASF soldiers, SOF support personnel like SOCOM logistics officers or civilian employees of SOCOM procurement organs and an audience of industry people with at least Secret clearances.
Does anyone have theories on which of the several competing take-down sniper rifle designs the DEVGRU operators in our campaign are most likely to have access to in February 2017?