Quote:
Originally Posted by Gorbag
Aimpoint also got going in the early 90s (makers of the more popular red dot sights), so the technology was already existent, just not mature.
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Please don't think I'm trying to come across as a know-it-all and correct you, I'm trying to support your comments.
Aimpoint was actually around in the late 60s. The Son Tay Raiders took Aimpoint's first 200 produced sights for that mission. In those days they were designed for shotguns though, not military weapons.
One of the benefits of being at Benning was getting to talk to a bunch of the Raiders who now have contractor jobs on post (not PMC contractors, Range Control, doctrine writers and other office-type jobs). Apparently COL Simons heard about them and took all 200 of their first production run, then taped them to the carrying handles of their rifles. Nighttime accuracy went from 10-15% to about 75% according to the commander of the Greenleaf element.
Definitely a real world precedent, with supporting data, for an ambitious commander in Twilight (2000 or 2013), to submit an Operational Needs Statement to purchase red-dot sights for his battalion/brigade prior to the real world acceptance and issue in the late 90s. Then the whole issue of "general issue" is avoided.