As a prerequisite, snipers need to have a very good eyesight. As per Lucky Bisht, who is a former Indian Army sniper who has also served in the NSG, Secret Service and RAW said in a podcast, that when he was sent to Israel for advanced sniper and commando training, he was made to shoot targets in the dark, just by seeing them in the light of a dimly lit candle underneath the target. Even there are reports where snipers have taken kill shots on target at distance who have just a flashlight on or were having a smoke by seeing just the glowing tip of their cigarettes. Even with that they did have access to illuminated reticle sights and use of tracer ammunition to judge distances and confirmation of targets getting hit which were particularly used for training purposes as rangefinders are a modern thing.
Modern snipers now have cutting edge panoramic night vision and night vision scopes at their disposal which amplify the available light in the environment along with illuminated reticles to help track and shoot targets in the dark. With thermal imaging equipment available which can be mounted along with their telescopic sights, it has become quite easy to see and acquire targets in the dark as well.
Signing out.
Source: Sagar Singharoy (Quora)
