Has IR technology made the traditional sniper obsolete?

Hello Everyone,

I just finished reading Sniper on the Eastern Front, a book about Sepp Allerberger the second highest scoring German sniper of WWII. I found the book fascinating but it raised a question about the longevity of a modern sniper in modern combat in my mind. Allerberger was very successful (over 300 kills) because he religiously followed the rules of concealment and never firing more than a single shot from one location. By following these simple rules he was able to create fear and a high body count among his enemies. They knew they were being targeted by a sniper, but they had no idea where he was, their defense being reduced to blindly firing in the general area they thought he was in.

A good sniper can become nearly invisible with the use of camo, but technology might have advanced to the point of making the best efforts at concealment useless. I know that there is a new device the military is using that can pinpoint the direction a shot was fired from using the sound of the bullet’s sonic boom. I would think that if you had the direction the shot came from that finding the sniper with infra red technology would be almost assured. From what I understand IR is capable of “seeing” through walls, bushes, etc… How can a modern sniper stay hidden and alive? Is there some sorry of defense available to hide their heat signature from infa red? If there isn’t I don’t see how a modern sniper could be as effective as his counter part in previous wars.

Now I realize that the modern sniper is extremely effective against opponents such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan, but how effective could he be against a modern foe with gear such as helicopters equipped with IR technology?

IR reflective covers exist. That would give you an edge for a very limited amount of time, until the blanket starts t heat up. But for all of the counter-measures to be effective, they first must be in place and active. A sniper striking once from a distance and then vanishing is very hard to defend against, no matter what you do.