Norway takes home top prize in multinational best sniper competition

A Norwegian Army sniper team took home top honors at an annual event hosted by the U.S. Army Europe and Africa command.

A sergeant and lance corporal first class assigned to the Norwegian Army’s 1st Armored Battalion outshot 34 other teams from 21 other nations on their way to being named the winners of the command’s 2025 European Best Sniper Team Competition, according to a release.

Second and third place honors in the event, which was held Nov. 22 in Grafenwoehr, Germany, were awarded to Latvian and Greek sniper teams, respectively.

“It’s been fun meeting new challengers, going to new ranges, trying new things and being challenged in new ways we haven’t been before,” the Norwegian lance corporal 1st class said in the release. The team was not individually identified in the report.

The competition, organized annually by the 7th Army Training Command in either Grafenwoehr or Hohenfels, Germany, aims to enhance readiness through training scenarios, build military partnerships and better align with allies, according to the release.

To make this year’s training more realistic, the competition was held later in the year than usual to ensure competitors were met with Bavaria’s winter snow and below-freezing temperatures.

“The modern battlefield is evolving faster than at any point in history,” 7th ATC’s Command Sgt. Maj. Paul Fedorisin said in the release. “We must evolve our tactics, techniques, procedures and equipment — at speed — to remain survivable and lethal.”

In addition to enduring the climate, competitors took on tasks involving shooter and spotter communication, land navigation and target engagement at varying distances.

Each two-person team completed 16 sniper skill-level tasks across six days, earning scores throughout each event.

“It’s nice going to somewhere else to see that the things we train in at our home unit — see that it works other places and in other environments,” the Norwegian sergeant said.

The 22 participating countries included Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, United Kingdom and the United States.

“You are the best that each of your nations and organizations has to offer,” Fedorisin told the winning team at the award ceremony. “You represented them incredibly well.”

挪威陆军狙击小组在美国陆军欧洲和非洲司令部主办的年度活动中荣获最高荣誉。

据一份新闻稿称，隶属于挪威陆军第 1 装甲营的一名中士和一名一等兵击败了来自其他 21 个国家的 34 支队伍，荣获该司令部 2025 年欧洲最佳狙击队比赛的冠军。

11 月 22 日在德国格拉芬沃尔举行的这项赛事中，拉脱维亚狙击队和希腊狙击队分别获得第二名和第三名。

“结识新的挑战者，前往新的靶场，尝试新的事物，并以我们从未经历过的方式迎接挑战，这都非常有趣，”这位挪威一级下士在新闻稿中说道。报告中没有透露团队成员的具体姓名。

据新闻稿称，这项竞赛由美国陆军第七训练司令部每年在德国格拉芬沃尔或霍亨费尔斯举办，旨在通过训练场景提高战备水平，建立军事伙伴关系，并更好地与盟友协调一致。

为了使今年的训练更加贴近现实，比赛的举办时间比往年晚了一些，以确保参赛者能够体验到巴伐利亚的冬季降雪和零度以下的气温。

“现代战场的变化速度比历史上任何时期都快，”第7空中运输司令部司令军士长保罗·费多里辛在新闻稿中表示。“我们必须快速改进我们的战术、技术、程序和装备，才能保持生存能力和杀伤力。”

除了要适应各种气候条件外，参赛者还要完成射手和观察员之间的沟通、陆地导航以及在不同距离上进行目标交战等任务。

每个两人小组在六天内完成了 16 项狙击技能等级任务，并在每个赛事中获得分数。

“去其他地方看看，了解一下我们在自己部队训练的东西——看看它在其他地方和其他环境中是否也有效——感觉真好，”这位挪威中士说道。

参与的22个国家包括奥地利、比利时、加拿大、克罗地亚、捷克共和国、丹麦、爱沙尼亚、芬兰、法国、希腊、德国、意大利、拉脱维亚、立陶宛、荷兰、挪威、波兰、葡萄牙、斯洛文尼亚、西班牙、英国和美国。

“你们是各自国家和组织中最优秀的人才，”费多里辛在颁奖典礼上对获奖团队说。“你们出色地代表了他们。”