Corps seeks lighter, more capable rifle optic for combat arms Marines

Photo By T. T. Parish | Cpl. Daniel Collacott, a rifleman with Charlie Company, Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, holds security during platoon attack training at Camp Schwab, Okinawa, Japan, Feb. 28, 2019. Collacott, a native of Colorado Springs, graduated from Discovery Canyon High School in May 2014 before enlisting in June 2015. During the training, Marines with Charlie Company refined their ability “To locate, close with and destroy the enemy by fire and maneuver, or repel the enemy’s assault by fire and close combat,” the mission of the Marine Corps rifle squad. Charlie Company Marines are the airborne raid specialists with BLT 1/4, the Ground Combat Element for the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed MEU, provides a flexible and lethal force ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premier crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. T. T. Parish/Released)  

MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES

05.14.2019

Story by Maj. Kenneth Kunze 

Marine Corps Systems Command

Marine Corps Systems Command is requesting information that will inform the procurement of a new Squad Common Optic for use on the M4, M4A1 and M27. The Request for Information indicates that the Corps is seeking a lighter weight optic that can acquire targets from a farther distance than its predecessor.

The SCO is a rifle scope that will replace the current Rifle Combat Optic and Squad Day Optic for combat arms Marines. When the SCO is fielded, noncombat arms Marines who are not issued the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle will continue to use the RCO.

The SCO Request for Information is a continuation of market research that began in 2017 and is intended to assess market potential against technology gains in the past two years, said Tom Dever, project officer for the Combat Optics program.

"Program Manager Infantry Weapons looks forward to working with our industry partners to deliver an improved targeting capability to our warfighters," he said.

Procurement is expected to begin during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2020, and combat arms Marines could begin receiving the new optic as early as the second quarter of fiscal year 2021. The SCO effort is expected to reach Full Operational Capability three years after a contract is awarded.

• Date Taken: 05.14.2019
• Date Posted: 05.14.2019 19:34
• Story ID: 322441
• Location: MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, VIRGINIA, US