OSTI Wins Special Orders for Clip-On Night Sights
Jan 08, 2007 07:08 EST
combat zone view
(click to view full)
Dec 26/06: Optical Systems Technology, Inc. (OSTI) in Freeport, PA received a $6.9 million indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract from US Marine Corps Systems Command in Quantico, VA for production and delivery of the “Scout Sniper Mid-Range Night Sight.” The really interesting thing about OSTI’s sights is that they clip on to existing day scopes without requiring tools, do not alter or affect day sight centerline or boresight, and are permanently aligned. This is a significant improvement over a dual-scope approach that forces the operator to switch sights entirely for night use, with the potential for adjustment issues et. al.
OSTI has a number of products in this area, and the US Marines certainly take their weapon sights seriously. A direct enquiry revealed more about the specific sight selected, the quantities involved, and the customer – MARSOC....
(click to view full)
Equiries to OSTI revealed that its MAGNUM Universal Night Sight™ (MUNS) won the Marine Corps award against two other finalists. USSOCOM purchased and tested OSTI’s initial run of 8 MUNS units, and MARSOC has also tested and fielded OSTI’s AN/PVS-22 Universal Night Sight™ and MUNS. The initial order is for about 800 MUNS units and is in fact destined for MARSOC, the new US Marines special operations unit being stood up as part of US Special Operations Command (SOCOM). The contract provides for a maximum of 4,700 units, and contains options that would bring the estimated maximum value of the contract to $39.9 million if exercised.
The MAGNUM Universal Night Sight™ gathers about twice as much light as the PVS-22, and can be used to engage targets at about 1.5 times the range. Under starlight-only conditions, vehicle detection range is about 3150 meters and detection of a human is listed as 1,350 meters. These ranges will lengthen if moonlight is added. Weight is 3.2 pounds, and the unit takes 2 AA batteries with a battery life of over 60 hours in favorable conditions of 25C/80F temperatures.
Paul Maxin, President of Optical Systems Technology, stated “Various [US Department of Defense] organizations have procured and fielded over 3,000 AN/PVS-22 Universal Night Sights™, and MAGNUM Universal Night Sights™” to date.
Work on this contract will be performed in Freeport, PA and is expected to be complete by December 2007 (December 2011 with options). This contract was competitively procured via publication on the Navy Electronic Commerce On-line website, with 4 offers received (M67854-07-D-1058).
