| e 17th century right up until the US Civil War, | | | | aircraft pilots' heads-up displays, the EOTech |
| infantrymen engaged their targets using bead sights | | | | holographic sight gave the user a 100% realistic |
| or crude blade sights. The US Civil War saw limited | | | | holographic reproduction of the terrain in view. The |
| use of telescopic sights, although their quality and low | | | | EOTech sight featured a 65 minute of angle (MOA) |
| magnification lent only modest advantage to the | | | | circle for fast target acquisition as well as a 1 MOA |
| soldiers using them. | | | | center dot for more precise shooting. The EOTech |
| Advancements in optical technology led to the use of | | | | sight allowed the user to get on target quickly |
| high quality rifle scopes in World War II. Scoped rifles | | | | without the need to align his head with the sight, or |
| were issued to snipers, while the regular foot soldier | | | | even have the rifle shouldered. As long as the user |
| had to make do with iron sights. This was the case in | | | | could see the reticle and place it on the target, he |
| the Korean War as well as in Vietnam. | | | | was ready to fire. |
| In the 1970's, the British Army saw the need to | | | | The US military quickly saw the advantage of the |
| equip soldiers deployed in Northern Ireland with the | | | | EOTech sight and, in 2004, contracted for M552 |
| Sight, Unit, Infantry, Trilux (SUIT) scope, a 4X optical | | | | sights for use by 1,930 US Marines and for 6,000 US |
| scope that was mounted to the L1A1 rifle. Just a | | | | Army soldiers deploying to Iraq. As the EOTech sight |
| few years later, in 1978, the Austrian Army adopted | | | | proved itself, the Marine Corps requested that |
| the Steyr Aug 5.56, an assault rifle with an integral | | | | EOTech develop the model 550AA, which uses simple |
| 1.5X scope in the carry handle. | | | | AA batteries, and can be submerged in water up to |
| Low-magnification optical sights gave soldiers an | | | | 60 feet for as long as two hours. The waterproof |
| advantage over plain iron sights, but still required the | | | | construction of the 550AA also made it an ideal sight |
| user to align his eye with the scope. The advent of | | | | for US Navy Seals. |
| the red dot sight changed that. | | | | Much of the fighting in Iraq has been in urban |
| Originally developed for civilian use by the Swedish | | | | environments. To address the specific needs of |
| company Aimpoint, the red dot sight gave the user a | | | | soldiers deployed in urban areas, Australia's Defense |
| way to engage the target with both eyes open, | | | | Science and Technology Organization produced the |
| simply by placing the red dot in the sight on the | | | | Off-Axis Viewing Device (OAVD) in 2004. The OAVD |
| target. Military forces worldwide, including the United | | | | clips to the standard sights on the F88 Steyr 5.56, |
| States, quickly adopted the red dot sights for Close | | | | the F89 Minimi, and the M4 carbine. Using two mirrors, |
| Quarters Battle (CQB) engagements, where the red | | | | the OAVD enables the soldier to sight in on his target |
| dot sights allowed for fast target acquisition at close | | | | from around a corner and strike the target without |
| range. The US Army awarded Aimpoint a contract in | | | | exposing himself to fire. |
| 1997 for the CompM2 red dot sight. | | | | Another "shoot around corners" sight is the |
| The most significant change in sighting for US military | | | | Macroswiss Guncam. Introduced in 2005, the Guncam |
| rifles, though, was in 1995 when the Trijicon 4x32 | | | | is a gun-mounted laser combined with a Cmos |
| Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight (ACOG) was | | | | camera. The camera is connected via a cable to a |
| adopted by the US Special Operations Command. | | | | special pair of glasses or a wrist monitor. This setup |
| The ACOG sight used a combination of a radioactive | | | | allows the soldier to aim his rifle at the target, view |
| tritium-illuminated reticle and a fiber optic reticle to | | | | the scene with the glasses or wrist monitor and, |
| give a bright reticle picture in all light conditions, and | | | | when the laser dot is on target, fire and hit with |
| without the need for batteries. The 4X magnification | | | | good accuracy. |
| proved ideal for CQB engagements such as those | | | | As laser and holographic technologies advance, and as |
| encountered by the US Marines in Afghanistan. In | | | | the nature of warfare becomes increasingly urban, |
| 2004, Trijicon received a contract for as many as | | | | manufacturers are continuing to develop combat |
| 800,000 TA31 ACOG sights. | | | | sights that are more precise and leave the soldier |
| In 1996, Michigan-based EOTech Corporation debuted | | | | less exposed to enemy fire. |
| its holographic sight for hunting and sport shooting | | | | We've come a long way from the blunderbuss. |
| applications. Using technology similar to that of fighter | | | | |