# Ridin' the Rails



## Ravage (Apr 13, 2011)

http://www.special-operations-techn...ume-9-issue-2-april/4110-ridin-the-rails.html

The  typical rifle used by today’s special operators is much more of a  high-tech weapon system then a simple carbine. Scopes, NVDs, suppressors  and more have all been integrated for more deadly and accurate handheld  firepower. 
“Having  a modular barrel configuration is a key element,” said Matt Baker,  director of sales, military and federal divisions, with Eagleville,  Pa.-based Streamlight Inc. “This allows the user to have effective  long-range engagements or work in close-quarter settings.” Streamlight  manufactures and supplies the C4 series of Tactical Gun Mounted Lights,  as well as a variety of white-light, aiming and infrared (IR)  accessories for the long-gun platforms used by SOF.
In  many tactical operations, the order of the day is: “Keep it simple.”  And yet many of these accessories are really not optional, often meaning  the difference between a mission’s success or failure. Balancing  complexity with weight and ease-of-use issues has been a consistent  challenge to rail and accessory manufacturers. 
“Maintaining  overall flexibility is vital, but so is the ability to offer a  simplified, easy-to-understand operating platform,” explained Baker.
The  M16 and its variants, the M4 and M4A1, all weapons typically carried by  SOF, can be fitted with a variety of accessories including but not  limited to lights, suppressors, night vision devices, scopes, bipods,  grenade launchers, and just about anything else that can be made to be  compatible with a MIL-STD -1913 Picatinny Rail.
The  term Picatinny comes from the Picatinny Arsenal located in New Jersey,  where the MIL-STD-1913 standard rail, which was adopted in 1995, was  first developed. The standard specifies the dimensions required  including length, width, height and angle of tolerances for each  measurement. What distinguishes the Picatinny from similar rail systems  is the profile of the grooves. The term ‘Picatinny Rail’ is sometimes  used generically, much like ‘Band-aid’ or ‘Kleenex,’ in commercial or  civilian gun sales. However, to be a true Picatinny rail and meet  MIL-STD as required for military applications, the recoil grooves must  be .206 inches wide, and have a center-tocenter width of .394 inches.
*Seeing and Being Unseen*​Two  of the areas of most importance to the special operator when it comes  to rifle accessories are being able to see during night operations, and  remaining unseen to the enemy. Lighting systems and suppression  technology are two of the most common accessories you’ll find attached  to the rails of any SOF weapon.
“We  have seen an enormous upswing in end-user requests for signature  suppression—flash and sound,” said Kel Whelan, government and industry  liaison with Eagle, Idaho-based Gemtech. “Our G5 silencer has always  been one of the quietest on the market, but now clients are obtaining it  with a new emphasis—for its flash reduction as well as its superior  audio suppression. One of our greatest challenges is that we are being  asked for increased interchangeability: for instance, we’ve addressed  this by making Gemtech 7.62 mm suppressors that are able to be mounted  easily on 5.56 mm host weapons, from a M249 to a MK18. But we also  designed in safety features so a 5.56 mm suppressor cannot be mounted on  a 7.62 rifle.”
Gemtech  silencers are used across the field of special operations. However,  when asked to specify what units their products are currently deployed  with, Whelan had this interesting response: “While Gemtech products are  in duty use with all branches of the U.S. military, the intelligence  community and with other federal agencies, we do not give out specific  client lists. Our motto is ‘Quiet things for quiet professionals’—and  since we’re in the business of keeping things quiet, we always assume  our clients would prefer to be discreet.”
If  being discreet is one side of the SOF mission, the other is often  throwing some light on the subject, be that white or laser light,  sometimes at great distances. That is where tactile gun mounted lights  come in. “If it has a rail,” Baker said, “we can put a light on it.”  That includes not only carbines like the SCAR, M4/M16, and belt-fed  machine guns like the M240 and M249, but a variety of indigenous weapons  that special operators use when in their deployed locations.
Baker  explained, “If the user needs white light beyond 300 meters, we have  the capability in a system that’s less than seven inches in length and  weighs just seven ounces. If the user needs a light or light/laser combo  that can be either carbine- or pistol-mounted, we have a single  solution that does both and gives 179 meters of range.”
SureFire,  based in Fountain Valley, Calif., not only manufactures Picatinny rails  but also produces several of the accessories most requested by special  forces to mount on them, including weapon lights, silencers and flash  suppressors. According to the company, SureFire sound suppressors for  rifles and machine guns combine the most important features sought by  SOF: excellent sound, flash and dust signature reduction.


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## Ravage (Apr 13, 2011)

*A Variety of Needs in a Limited Space*​One  of the greatest challenges to the warfighter in accessorizing weapons,  especially for the unique needs of special operators, is how to fit  everything desired on a single rail. Manufacturers have recognized and  risen to this challenge. “Long-gun manufacturers have been challenged  over the years to make their weapons lighter and smaller. This process  has shortened the length of many carbine barrels, which has reduced the  amount of space available for adding sights, lights or lasers. Because  the TLR platform’s overall length is smaller than most other systems, it  doesn’t interfere with the other equipment that is put on the rail,”  said Streamlight’s Baker when describing their TLR family of lights and  aiming lasers. 
As  always, the concern with anything that needs to be carried by SOF is  size and weight. This has been intensified by the recent push on the  part of USSOCOM for more effective ammo to engage at longer ranges. This  means rifle barrels are longer and bullets bigger, making rifles that  have been designed for close quarter battle (CQB) a little heavier, even  before an accessory is mounted to the rail. This is forcing accessory  manufactures to find ways to make their products still smaller and  lighter, without compromising on feature sets and durability.
According  to Baker, “As we see it from our dealings with SOF, power output,  battery life and environmental durability are the most critical  performance attributes. If the operator is able to carry fewer  batteries, he becomes more effective. When using the IR setting, our TLR  gives the operator nearly 20 full hours of use before needing to change  batteries. Our ability to generate a tight, focused beam of energy  allows the operator to quickly discern between threats or recognize  friendly forces without the aid of any optics. Our TLR-VIR only weighs 6  ounces with batteries.”
“In  regards to the M4/M16/AR style platforms, we see SOF going towards  short-barreled rifles for increased maneuverability and decreased weight  in CQB,” said Ron Canfield, public relations manager with SureFire.  “This compacting of the weapon platform decreases the available rail  space. This means we try to compact our accessories so they not only  fit, but so they’re either compatible or so they don’t compete for space  with other non-SureFire accessories.”
This  battle for space on the rail has prompted manufacturers to seek out  multiple platform solutions that combine the functionality of one or  more accessories into a single package, such as the M620V WeaponLight,  recently introduced by Sure-Fire. “Previously, if an operator wanted  high-output white and IR from one light source, the best option was an  incandescent weapon light paired with a compatible infrared filter,”  said Canfield.
“This  is because white-light-only LEDs produce negligible infrared radiation  and cannot be paired with an infrared filter for use on covert missions  involving night vision devices. That said, incandescent lamps can break  and will eventually burn out, and IR filters can be lost or damaged in  battle, which made it necessary for operators to carry extra lamps and  filters in the field. The M620V eliminates this problem by offering both  white-light/IR capability and superior durability in the form of  solid-state LEDs, which unlike incandescent lamps have no filament to  break or burn out, so they never need replacing.”
Canfield  explained that while the M620V combines functionalities, it still does  so in a very small and lightweight package: “The M620V won’t add to an  operator’s load. It’s constructed of aerospace aluminum, hard anodized  with a mil-spec finish that’s as strong as steel but much lighter. And  its compact size doesn’t compromise a weapon’s maneuverability or eat up  a lot of space on a Picatinny Rail.” Much like Streamlight’s TLR  series, Sure-Fire’s M620V also can be mounted on rails that are “out of  spec,” which can often be the case when special forces use indigenous  weapons during covert operations.
*A Matter of Choice*​The  dictionary defines ‘accessory’ as a supplementary part or object, so by  their very nature, rifle accessories are a matter of choice. Ground  troops and especially special operators often have a choice of what  accessories they want for their weapons. While this is often  mission-driven, personal preference and budget also are factors.  Accessory manufacturers and distributors are well aware of this, and  believe it is all about listening to the needs of the operators in the  field. “Budgets are becoming the biggest challenge to everyone,”  Streamlight’s Baker observed. “With that said, combining as many  features into one operating system, thus reducing the total number of  items on the weapon, is the most commonly cited ‘wish list’ we continue  to hear. However, with each mission comes a set of ever-changing  environments. SOF’s strength relies on its ability to customize and  cater to the mission, making a one-size-fits-all approach very hard to  realize.”
SureFire’s  Canfield put it somewhat differently, but basically agrees. “Knowledge  is power, [and the key lies in] getting every soldier educated on what’s  out there and giving them a chance to get hands-on. That last part is  really the key. There’s so much ‘noise’ from the industry that it has to  be hard for any soldier to make a decision. When it comes to personal  equipment, you’ve just got to use it. We want the soldiers to use, abuse  and put us to the test. Those that have will know what we’re about.”


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