Optics for .50-cal guns coming to Afghanistan - Marine Corps News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Marine Corps Times

Optics for .50-cal guns coming to Afghanistan

In response to an urgent requirement from units downrange, Marines in Afghanistan will soon field a new optic for their heavy machine guns, including the .50-caliber M2 and 40mm Mark 19 grenade launcher.

A $2.34 million contract was awarded in March to Leupold & Stevens Inc., of Beaverton, Ore., for 728 scopes. Each scope sells individually for about $3,150, according to Marine documents.

Leupold calls them MK 8 Close Quarters Battle Scout Sniper optics, but Marine officials said they will not be used on sniper rifles. The heavy day optic, or HDO, will be a long-range sighting system for heavy machine guns, documents say.

The urgent need statement was submitted in April 2010, and endorsed by operating forces with 3rd Marine Division out of Okinawa, Japan. The M2 and MK19 have effective ranges of at least 3,500 meters and 1,700 meters, respectively, but no optics were fielded that allowed Marines to consistently engage enemies at those distances, the documents state.

“The currently provided iron, image intensified and thermal sighting system either offer limited detection ranges or do not enable the required employment methods, which are based largely on the need for range-corrected aiming points, regardless of range, lighting condition or sighting device,” the document states.

The new optic will be used with Leupold’s Marine Tactical Milling Reticle, or M-TMR. It was designed to prevent Marines from needing to perform math on the fly to estimate range and to work in open desert, heavy cover and urban terrain.

Leupold officials said they have gone to extremes to ensure the optic is capable of withstanding shock and vibration. It will be mounted on the weapon with the Ballistic Extended Rail Mount, or BERM, which provides Picatinny rail space for optics and other equipment, Marine officials said.

The Corps bought the scopes through a sole-source contract, meaning it could find no one else capable of providing them in a timely fashion. This effort continues the Corps’ shift toward fielding day optics on nearly every infantry weapon. In the last few years, Marine officials have fielded optics for the 5.56mm M16A4 rifle, M4 carbine, and M249 squad automatic weapon and the 7.62 mm M240B machine gun.