Industry-Military partnerships next step in the digital revolution of combat optics
SoldierMod talks to Raytheon ELCAN's BD & Strategy Manager for Rifle Sights, Chris Reimer
Chris Reimer, Raytheon ELCAN's BD & Strategy, Manager for Rifle Sights
Q: Tell me about your role at Raytheon ELCAN and your credentials.
A: I joined the company in 2009, as part of the Optical Design team, and am now part of the Business Development team here at Raytheon ELCAN. My various roles in engineering and business development have focused on R&D and product development, now focusing on ELCAN Specter® sights. I hold a bachelor of engineering degree in aerospace and a master of engineering degree in electronics. Previously I worked in the telecom industry.
Q: What are the trends that you're seeing and how are these driving product development?
A: We're seeing interest in incorporating digital technologies, such as networked sights, fused (IR & visible) capability, ballistic computers, target tracking, etc. into rifle sights. There is a lack of coherency in the capabilities desired across the market place with these digital technologies. This is driving new players with some of these new capabilities into the market, and will drive established rifle sight makers into partnerships/acquisitions for some of these new capabilities. It is driving us to engage more with the warfighters and with complementary technology experts to define the future warfighter sight.
ELCAN Specter sights: complete line of battle-tested, premium quality military tactical weapon sights providing a trusted advantage - across any domain, any challenge and every mission.
Our design team incorporates user input into our product development. For Gen III (the latest publicly disclosed iteration), the package is smaller and lighter making it easier to operate without taking your hand off your weapon. The ballistic kernel has full environmental compensation for temperature, pressure and humidity as well as weapon canting (pitch and roll) up to 90 degrees.
ELCAN Specter DFCS digital fire control sight Gen III
As technology develops, we will continue to include more capability in a smaller package while still delivering reliable sights that make soldiers more effective on the battlefield.
Q: How do ELCAN sights help soldiers handle modern threats on the battlefield?
A: ELCAN sights provide exceptional clarity, robustness and ease of use. ELCAN sights are trusted by more than fifty allied forces and security services around the world to be effective and reliable in the most extreme environments and conditions. ELCAN's direct view optical sights keep soldiers safer and make them more effective by providing better situational understanding, reliable performance and advanced capabilities.
Q: Anything else you think our readers should know?
A: ELCAN focuses on providing new capabilities to the warfighter, while ensuring the fundamentals of the rifle sight remain in place. For example, our digital sight (ELCAN Specter DFCS digital fire control sight) continues to function as a regular etched reticle sight if the electronics are damaged or batteries are expended.
The industry-military partnerships are key to developing the right product for the right mission and being able to deliver it at the right time. This has been the key ingredient in the development of ELCAN Specter sights since the development of the C79 in the late 1990's. ELCAN remains committed to providing the best sights for the warfighters of today and tomorrow.
SmartPhones made communication faster and easier — putting unprecedented capability into users' hands. This portable hyper-connectivity provides instant access to information and has limitless potential.
The ELCAN Specter® digital fire control sight, or DFCS, was the first step in the revolution toward intelligent optics that disrupt optical weapon sights like SmartPhones disrupted global communications. The Specter DFCS, now at Gen III, is ready now and being used in operational environments with several allied militaries around the world.
The ELCAN Specter DFCS continues to evolve, as technology does, based on user feedback. This feedback loop is the critical enabler to delivering the capability required to push the battlefield out further, giving allied forces reliable overmatch advantage out to 1000m without adding cognitive or physical burden to soldiers.
Smart optics are keeping soldiers safer and making them more effective while reducing cognitive and physical strain.
For more information please visit:
https://rtx.com/specter
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