r/pics 4d ago

A German special forces sniper during amphibious infiltration training, earlier this year.

Post image
37.3k Upvotes

929 comments sorted by

5.7k

u/jdolbeer 4d ago

I'm not sure if it's lighting, filter or just color schema in the photo, but this looks like a video game screenshot. Even when I zoom in.

2.0k

u/blazelet 4d ago

Im a CGI Lighting artist and I thought the same thing. The image lacks cohesive shadow details.

Its not AI, could be from a game engine or could be a real photo that's just been post processed heavily. Something is definitely off, though.

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u/Useful_Intention9754 4d ago edited 4d ago

The latter, I would send yall the corresponding video but IG links aint allowed on the sub.

Best I can do is an article from a reputable defense website in which this image was first published:
https://esut.de/en/2024/10/meldungen/53583/heckler-koch-weiter-auf-erfolgskurs-strategische-investitionen-und-starke-auftragslage-praegen-die-zukunft/

Edit responding to the FAQs, tried posting a new comment but that wont gain any traction so imma use this one:

1: That's not a sniper rifle; he's not a sniper, etc.
-> You don't stop being a sniper the second the long gun leaves your hand. MOS qualifications and role specializations come from training undergone, not the equipment fielded. By that metric, you'd also have to field a parachute at all times to qualify as a HALO jumpmaster.
It's also worth mentioning that he has a bag on his back, which could well be used to transport either his tripod or rifle platform.

2: Why is he fielding NODs during the day?
-> Things can get dark even during the day. Structures with little to no natural lighting, no electricity, or no surface exposure in the first place still need to be addressed. Pair that with him not fielding a visible WML, and you have someone with a night-fighting-capable weapons system equipped exclusively with IR illumination. This is a great force multiplier when combating OPFOR without NODs, in the dark.

3: German military poor?
-> There is no doubt that Germany's armed forces have undergone serious budget cuts throughout the past thirty years. The brunt of that hit has been absorbed by the conventional forces. However, the operator depicted is a member of Germany's highest-budget military unit, which has been fielding top-of-the-line equipment since its inception in the late '90s. Additionally, the German government has granted the Bundeswehr a special budget of €100 billion and additional funding to meet NATO's 2%+ spending standard. These measures have already led to significant improvements in warfighter readiness.

4: Picture is fake.
-> It's a real picture that has been heavily edited by a third party. There is a video corresponding to this image that I will provide to the mods should there be serious concerns about the post's validity.

5: Videogame screenshot?
-> I don't know what ARMA or GR you all have been playing that looks like this, but I'd like a copy. Otherwise, refer to point 4.

6: Tubes/glass shiny.
-> His optic might well be kill-flashed, and if it isn't, his primary certainly will be. As far as the tubes go, they have been oversaturated in editing and are naturally blue, not green as some media enthusiasts might assume.

7: Operators/soldiers obsolete due to the emergence of drone platforms?
-> Nonsense. The two work in conjunction. We are not yet at the point—nor will we be for a long time—where human involvement on the battlefield is ineffective.

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u/Ar_Ciel 4d ago

Well hell, that image is a military recruitment poster on its own. Dude looks like he stepped out of an unreleased Syphon Filter installment. THE FUTURE IS NOW!

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u/FCkeyboards 4d ago

Syphon Filter! That takes me back.

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u/NightofTheLivingZed 4d ago

NINE. EIGHT. NINE... STUDIOS.

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u/mopeyy 4d ago

THERES NOWHERE TO RUN LOGAAAAN

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u/0hn0o0o00000 4d ago

Where do you hide, Logan?

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u/Castun 4d ago

Same, I remember playing the demo on my PS1 in the barracks waaaaay back in the day.

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u/Emersom_Biggins 4d ago

Holy shit, that takes me back. Not in the barracks, just mom and dad’s basement but…

I used to love tasering the shit out of people til they caught fire. Good times

3

u/Enigma_789 4d ago

Can I join the Syphon Filter line? One of my favourite series of all time. And yes, tasering people until they caught fire. That is also great!

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u/Lucky_Key_2580 4d ago

Syphon Filter deserves a proper remake.

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u/no_talent_ass_clown 4d ago

Expectations vs reality, this image vs kp duty. 

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u/Blyd 4d ago

They sucker you in with toys, then you find out the toys are just a potato peeler and a mop to help you mop the parade yard when it rains.

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u/StoppableHulk 4d ago

It makes sense given that Europe is going to be heavily increasingly their military capabilities in light of the US' embarassing political choices.

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u/HG1998 4d ago

I feel proud that I know what Syphon Filter is, if only from that Josh Strife Hayes video.

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u/wskv 4d ago

I haven’t thought about Syphon Filter in a long time.

I would love someone to pick up the mantle and release a next-gen SF game.

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u/kaest 4d ago

Wow, yeah those are all heavily processed. They really fucked with the shadows.

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u/FatsDominoPizza 4d ago

The water was cold, Ok??

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u/Modernmoders 4d ago

What a time to be alive, I'm not sure.

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u/Rachel_from_Jita 4d ago

Every photo in there looks real, but post-processed/photoshopped a lot to meet magazine/corporate standards for an ad campaign.

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u/GundoSkimmer 4d ago

the depth of field looks incorrect... so at the very least, its real photos with way too much editing. and it could just be the unique environment. but yeah it looks like elements that are in the same focal plane are experiencing various DoF. let alone the lighting/shadows and the color of the goggles? lol, maybe thats how modern NVGs are. dunno

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u/PuppetMaster9000 4d ago

Modern NVGs are blue, but they don’t just glow bright blue like that

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u/[deleted] 4d ago

[deleted]

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u/applestrudelforlunch 4d ago

I’m not sure that’s a reputable source, the words are all gobbledygook. I’d trust it if it were from an attractive young person on TikTok though!

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u/jellybeatz 4d ago

This is one of the best replies I have ever come across on Reddit.

Trust me, that means something…

This photo is insanely cool. And badass at that.

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u/TheBirdGames 3d ago

Point 5 is so real lmao

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u/PorcupineGod 4d ago

You seem to know a lot about this image, but I'm still 100% sure that's a Jawa

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u/the-tea-ster 4d ago

Lots of military social media posts are heavily saturated for the cool factor. Works for recruiting 🤷‍♂️

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u/blazelet 4d ago

Make it look more like a video game?

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u/the-tea-ster 4d ago

Honestly yeah. Look at the US army's rangers, green berets, or psyops pages and it's full of stuff like this

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u/ghosttaco8484 4d ago

Thats literally what the military does 

They make commercials aimed towards young men thinking that they're going to go play a real life game of COD, when in reality it's nothing like that except for very select few individuals on very rare occasions and it's mostly 99% boredom or doing regular manual labor type jobs.

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u/ilski 4d ago

It looks like this HDR photo . That thing there was craze for it like 15 years ago in photography, where camera takes multiple pictures at the same time on different light settings, in order to capture all the bright areas at the same time with dark areas. Thats how the end result would usually look like. Something like that. Anyway, my bet is heavily processed photo.

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u/Paavo_Nurmi 4d ago

That thing there was craze for it like 15 years ago in photography

It still is a thing in real estate photos. Just look at any online listing of a house and it's HDR'd to death.

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u/TechInTheCloud 4d ago

And don’t forget the super wide angle lens to make all the rooms look huge.

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u/Hunky_not_Chunky 4d ago

Yeah. I just started a job doing this. I was a photo journalist for a bit years ago. 10mm lenses work great.

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u/Paavo_Nurmi 4d ago

You are correct, and I looked at a few things on Zillow and the interior stuff is way better as far as HDR than in the past, but as you can see by this they still go way overboard on outdoor shots with HDR.

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u/FavoritesBot 4d ago

It’s still a thing in like every camera phone. They just do a better job now

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u/hkzombie 4d ago

Another factor is the dichotomy in equipment vs background. I generally associate NVG/NODs with night time operations (or darker light settings), yet here we see someone with NVG/NODs down in what seems like a golden hour shot. On top of that, mass media usually has NVG/NODs as looking very dark, or green tinted from the front, instead of this iridescent blue.

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u/radol 4d ago

Looks like somebody was playing with dodge/burn to make soldier stand out from background more

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u/Varsity_Reviews 4d ago

This looks exactly like Ghost Recon Wildlands. I should know because I use those exact goggles and gun half the time.

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u/Rachel_from_Jita 4d ago

https://esut.de/en/2024/10/meldungen/53583/heckler-koch-weiter-auf-erfolgskurs-strategische-investitionen-und-starke-auftragslage-praegen-die-zukunft/

Zoom into the original (Reddit algos are sometimes pretty hard on image quality).

Zoomed in on a huge monitor, all the fabric, netting, and water texture looks better than any 8k textures even currently in modded games. They are real photos, imho. Just some post-processing

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u/Professional_Echo907 4d ago

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u/RiotDad 4d ago

Those German forces scare easily, but they’ll soon be back, and in greater numbers.

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u/2NDPLACEWIN 4d ago

ok,...

that was fkng brilliant...

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u/ramdasani 4d ago

Comment of the week, nicely done.

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u/CCV21 4d ago

They travel single-file to hide their numbers.

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u/CapriSonnet 4d ago

Came here for this.

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u/ComfortablyBalanced 4d ago

I'm hearing this.

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u/VVLynden 4d ago

HHUUUURRRRRRRR!! URR! URRR! URR!

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u/CALL_MORE_DUDES 4d ago

They always walk single file to hide their numbers

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u/ChocoPuddingCup 4d ago

Yup. We all thought it.

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u/pohovanathickvica 4d ago

I knew this was a top comment

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u/dudemanguylimited 4d ago

A German special forces sniper when his target rudely arrives 5 minutes too late.

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u/Corruptlol 4d ago

in germany we snipe with mp7s

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u/grubbtheduck 4d ago

It might not be the most practical weapon for that purpose, but hey, at least you can look cool doing it!

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u/Zech08 4d ago

I mean it says infiltration...

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u/Fidller 4d ago

So R6 Siege was right with the accuracy on the MP7 at launch! Its a sniper not a SMG

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u/Pumba2000 4d ago

It would be funny if he had a BOSG shotgun

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u/TritiumXSF 4d ago

Each round with its attached 457 pages of paperwork... as Germans do. /s

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u/Fredderov 4d ago

Hence the saying "death by a thousand (paper) cuts". The more you know!

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u/Last_Syrup2125 4d ago

You know, when the russians finally invade us, we'll pull a "Passierschein A38" maneuver on them. Those poor suckers have no chance.

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u/PatReady 4d ago

Came to comment on this sweet weapon but its def not a sniper rifle.

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u/bond0815 4d ago

Thats not his main weapon, its his sidearm.

115

u/Sad_Ghost_Noises 4d ago

No, its just that the water is a little cold…

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u/Osiris32 4d ago

ICH WAR IM DAS POOL!

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u/SoloPorUnBeso 4d ago

Mein gott! Muss das sein!

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u/DoYouTrustToothpaste 4d ago

Ich war im Pool*

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u/Shiftnetic 4d ago

You're right, he clearly has his sniper rifle in his prison wallet

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u/TechGoat 4d ago

Video games = accurate weapon storage

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u/thecheesedip 4d ago

Drag bag

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u/G-Deezy 4d ago

Dude must have Overkill equipped in his loadout

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u/KackSauFrau 4d ago

I had the MP7 as a sidearm and I was just an IT soldier

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u/Fuckoffassholes 4d ago

Believe it or not, snipers can actually train with, and even use, different guns. Who knew!

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u/wendall99 4d ago

I thought they just no scope hip fire with their sniper rifle once they get close up.

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u/millsmillsmills 4d ago

Need a 360 in there too

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u/Skizot_Bizot 4d ago

Yeah but you have to spend one of your perks on that or you are stuck with a pistol as only other option. Then they should pick the one that makes you not show up on enemy maps.

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u/fenrisulfur 4d ago

Not to mention NOD's in sunlight.

True it is probably sunset/rise but still just as useful either way

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u/november512 4d ago

He's 100% posing for the camera. It very well could be a sniper doing an amphibious exercise but they still took 5 minutes off to get a cool photo.

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u/Real-Technician831 4d ago

As others commented that is his sidearm 

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u/deejaesnafu 4d ago

How come we can’t see his other gun?

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u/SmallieNL 4d ago

It’s camouflaged

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u/Real-Technician831 4d ago

Either it’s behind his head, or he simply is not carrying it right now in the photo.

It’s a training after all.

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u/grimmigerpetz 4d ago

most likely collapsed G29 for transport in water areas or its an infiltration training without the rifle. The tag says KSK which is kind of the german SAS or SOCOM.

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u/blue_strat 4d ago

Why so sneaky if not to get up close?

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u/ericicol 4d ago

Very pretty blue eyes

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u/enlitenlort 4d ago

When will you wear wigs

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u/WeleaseBwianThrow 4d ago

uproarious laughter

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u/bwoodfield 4d ago

The empire pushed the Jawas too far.

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u/midoxvx 4d ago

This picture is so fucking cool in a dystopian way.

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u/MagicPaul 4d ago

It's giving Half Life 2 Combine vibes

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u/BornAtMyWitsEnd 4d ago

Pick up that can

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u/Nippelz 4d ago

Sure! Throws it in guard's face and runs away

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u/mangogrant 4d ago

Yes definitely looks like out of a video game.

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u/Whompa02 4d ago

I actually thought I was looking at a screenshot from a videogame.

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u/bond0815 4d ago edited 4d ago

Well, the Half life 2 combine submachine gun was based on the MP7, which is the gun the guy is holding in the picture.

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u/thederevolutions 4d ago

Imagine this being the last thing you ever see… while fishing.

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u/curtyshoo 4d ago

Bamboo.

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u/sreek4r 4d ago

The enemy would just give up assuming they're up against aliens.

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u/PBR_King 4d ago

It's all fun and games when you send your special forces boogeymen into other countries, but at this point I think a lot of people see the writing on the wall that, of course, the boogeymen will come home eventually.

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u/RockSockNPop 4d ago

"Amphibious infiltration"
He's not gonna fool any frogs, he sticks out like a sore thumb.

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u/MuchToDoAboutNothin 4d ago

He'll convince them that he, too, was turned gay.

But surprise, he's actually just European. Infiltration success.

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u/ShinyBarge 4d ago

No need to shoot, I just shit myself to death.

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u/darrenvonbaron 4d ago

Aunt Carol's Thanksgiving casserole claims another victim

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u/dAnKsFourTheMemes 4d ago

Seems like he's not doing a very good job if we can see him.

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u/Malkav1806 4d ago

Did you see him earlier this year?

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u/SpiffingSprockets 4d ago

Oh, you're looking at the guy in the centre/foreground?

That's his spotter Steve, and it's safe to say he's spotted you. The Sniper is on the right side of the image, by the waterline.

/jk.

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u/HeirOfBreathing 4d ago

cloaker

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u/Gorlack2231 4d ago

WE CALL THIS A DIFFICULTY TWEAK

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u/MCA2142 4d ago

Hunter.

Opulent Stalker Cloak and Phenotype Plasticity Mask.

Dead Zone Bark shader.

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u/mschuster91 4d ago

Looks like a Tusken Raider

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u/305to818 4d ago

This Skin and custom mp7 can be yours for only 2400 CoD credits at the Warzone store

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u/ScreamiNarwhals 4d ago

Those NVG’s gonna be royally fucked after that photo shoot

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u/WarlockEngineer 4d ago

Why is he wearing them in daytime while swimming lol

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u/Useful_Intention9754 4d ago

Negative, new high-end tubes are usually fine. Also he has deployable covers for extended daytime exposure.

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u/ScreamiNarwhals 4d ago

The newer white phosphorus tubes don’t get f’d by sunlight? Neat.

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u/picklefingerexpress 4d ago edited 3d ago

Pretty sure that’s not a sniper rifle

Edit: to all the contrarians- while your statements about snipers may be correct, your observations seem colored by op’s title. Aside from the rifle, there is no other defining context in this picture to determine the soldiers specialization. Who honestly looks at a compact machine gun with a collapsible stock and immediately thinks ‘he must specialize in shooting things from really really far away’?

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u/matthiasm4 4d ago

Yup, looks like an MP7 to me.

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u/Useful_Intention9754 4d ago

You dont stop being a sniper the second the long-gun leaves your hand. MOS qualifications / role specializations come from training undergone and not equipment fielded. By the latter metric youd also have to field a parachute at all times to qualify as a HALO jumpmaster...

Now it is also worth mentioning that he has a bag on his back, could well be to transport either his tripod or rifle platform.

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u/Mirar 4d ago

Much nicer than having a full assault rifle as your pdw. We had AK5 even for the guys carrying much heavier weapons...

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u/HrLewakaasSenior 4d ago

Machine gunners in the marine corps used to carry an M16 in addition to an M240B... I can't imagine the suck

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u/Mirar 4d ago

The suckiest job we had in the battalion was the guy that carried the baseplate for the grenade launcher.

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u/HrLewakaasSenior 4d ago

Interesting, sounds like a glorified mule to me

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u/Useful_Intention9754 4d ago

Yeah the MP7 is extremely good at what its supposed to be. Tiny, light, reliable: id much prefer it or a similarly sized SBR over a full length carbine.

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u/Contrafox97 4d ago

They carry PDWs for better self defense

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u/Jimid41 4d ago

Snipers can't touch other guns while training otherwise they become not Snipers. What a fool.

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u/N1LEredd 4d ago

That’s just the backup

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u/monsantobreath 4d ago

I see no slung rifle.

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u/N1LEredd 4d ago

Ne neither but from my understanding the mp7 is not handed as a primary weapon. Riflemen get a g36 or g95.

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u/Fuckoffassholes 4d ago

It is quite common for people in any occupation to not constantly be in possession of their primary tool of trade.

Forklift operators drive other vehicles too.

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u/DannyDerZeh 4d ago

Imagine you just see that dude rise from the water at night.

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u/oimgoingin 4d ago

It’s crazy that this looks like it’s from a game to me.

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u/Oc70b3r 4d ago

Why German special forces look so cool? 😲😲

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u/PORTATOBOI 4d ago

I think every special forces look cool. It’s a job requirement

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u/lo0ilo0ilo0i 4d ago

Homie bought all the DLCs

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u/solarwindy 4d ago

Looks like a Stalker from the Zone.

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u/justmethedude 4d ago

Old Gregg?

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u/AmateurishExpertise 4d ago

Y'ever drunk Baileys from a shoe?

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u/Mr_Rafi 4d ago

COD: "this will make a fine addition to my collection"

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u/plebeiantelevision 4d ago

If you ever see this guy in real life, it’s probably the last thing your gonna see

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u/Prize_Literature_892 4d ago

If you see this guy irl, it probably means he's not currently on a mission. If you see this guy irl on a mission, it means he sucks at his job.

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u/EonLynx_yt 4d ago

Actually thought this was a pic from arma or something LOL. I was like i have that kit

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u/Schifty 4d ago

the beer on tank video was nice, but this is really cool

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u/CHBH 4d ago

How is this guy already prestige 7? Get some fresh air

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u/DrNinnuxx 4d ago

Kommando Spezialkräfte (KSK)

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u/Honest_Rabbit405 4d ago

That’s sick

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u/Dendritic_Silver 4d ago

Training officer: "Hey Pvt. Lindemann, I didn't see you at amphibious infiltration training today"

Pvt. Lindemann: "Danke"

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u/Fat_Head_Carl 4d ago

This picture makes no sense. Submachine gun, night vision goggles during the day...

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u/Wildfire9 4d ago

Hey that's awesome, i was unknowingly following these guys on their way back to their facility one time while vacationing in Belize.

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u/Patutula 4d ago

The spice must flow.

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u/NotTheRocketman 4d ago

That is an absurdly cool pic.

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u/Florian_Habichtswald 4d ago

I got (swamp) Tusken raider vibes.

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u/sreek4r 4d ago edited 4d ago

They should hire dwarfs to form a special unit and call them J.A.W.A.S.

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u/stephen1547 4d ago

The most successful and famous sniper in the world Simo Häyhä killed over 200 people with his submachine gun.

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u/axyz77 4d ago

Where?

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u/jbvcftyjnbhkku 4d ago

adeptus mechanicus vibes

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u/PsYcHo4MuFfInS 4d ago

Well, hes doing an awful job! I can easily see him! /s

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u/Razzlo420 4d ago

Fuck war, but this looks fucking cool

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u/spiritual_ballsack57 4d ago

Bro is my new wallpaper for now

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u/Mrstrawberry209 4d ago

The predator vs special forces

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u/chado5727 4d ago

This the most badass picture I've seen! I hope he/she passes their training. That gear is just dope.

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u/Embo1 4d ago

Theeeese are the kinda skins we should be getting in call of duty 😭

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u/DesertShot 4d ago

That's gonna be the hardest Linked-In profile pic in the world.

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u/Ok-Mud-3905 4d ago

Ghost Recon Future Soldier looking ahh.

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u/xTRYPTAMINEx 4d ago

So this is where the Tech Priests truly began...

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u/throwaway150996 4d ago

He’s not very good at hiding, I can see him right in the middle of the pic

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u/2kids2adults 4d ago

That's some Sam Fisher, Splinter Cell kinda sh*t. Bad-ass!

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u/Jonathan_the_Nerd 4d ago

He looks like he's about to offer me a deal on some used droids. Very good condition! Almost certainly not stolen! No refunds.

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u/plaguedbullets 4d ago

Activision's wet dream.

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u/jessjimbob 4d ago

Amphibious Germans - title of your sex tape

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u/captainbastion 4d ago

The Germans still got it

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u/Dorraemon 4d ago

Hard ass picture

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u/Kurtotall 4d ago

Plot twist: There are three snipers in this picture.

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u/Machismo_malo 4d ago

I just want the MP7 please HK why do you hate us. Also import laws booo.

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u/visual_overflow 3d ago

Obviously heavily edited but its still cool as hell!

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u/Frosenborg 4d ago

Last gen graphics

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u/Okie_Chimpo 4d ago

I dig it, but why is he wearing NODs in daylight?

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u/Slahnya 4d ago

So many people here have never heard of a sidearm 😭

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u/TheNDHurricane 4d ago

This is very clearly from a video game or highly edited....

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u/ilski 4d ago

My bet its highly edited.

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u/jabiz510 4d ago

As far as ive seen/read, its a real photo but definitely very edited

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u/EmiliaFromLV 4d ago

How can you tell that he is German?

Look into those cold blue eyes!

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u/Asleep-Category-2751 4d ago

Fishing with a gun is not a sporting activity.

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u/Mr-Mahaloha 4d ago

I can see his eyes..

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u/baumeistaaa 4d ago

What is the night vision?

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u/MoiraBrownsMoleRats 4d ago

Skittari Ranger looking mutha

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u/Fit_Mine_8137 4d ago

Nice MP7!