weapon sights

7/31/2019 Weapon Sights

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A sight is a device used to assist aligning or aim weapons, surveying instruments, orother items by eye.

Sights can be a simple set or system of markers that have to be aligned together as well

as aligned with the target (referred to as aniron sightsonfirearms).[1]

They can also beoptical devicesthat allow the user to see the image of an aligned

aiming point in the same focus as the target.These includetelescopic sightsandreflector (or "reflex") sights. There are also sights

that project an aiming point onto the target itself, such aslaser sights.

There are many types of sighting devices. They can be fixed, mechanical, optical,

computational, or a mixture of all of these attributes.

Bombsight

A bombsight is a device used bybomber aircraftto accurately drop bombs. Inorder to do this, the bombsight has to estimate the path the bomb will take after

release from the aircraft. The two primary forces during its fall aregravityandair

drag, which make the path of the bomb through the air roughlyparabolic.

Vector bombsights useful for altitudes up to about 3,000 m and speeds up toabout 300 km/h.

Tachometric bombsights were often combined withradarsystems to allowaccurate bombing through clouds or at night.

When studies demonstrated that bomb accuracy was roughly equal in these twosystems, optical bombsights were generally removed and the role passed to

dedicated radar bombsights.

Computerized bombsights were introduced, which combined the bombingcalculations with navigation and mapping.

Collimator sight
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M4 Collimator sight on a M4 mortar

Type ofoptical sightthat allows the user looking into it to see an illuminatedaiming point aligned with the device the sight is attached-to regardless of eye

position (with littleparallax).

Collimator sights are 'blind' sights; that is, they are used with both eyes openwhile one looks into the sight, with one eye open and moving the head to

alternately see the sight and then at the target, or using one eye to partially see the

sight and target at the same time.

They are also referred to as collimating sights or "occluded eye gunsight"(OEG).

Description

Layout of an optical collimator with a bulb

The basic layout of a collimator sight is a closed tube with a lens at its open end

and a luminousreticlemounted near the closed end at the focus of the lens,

creating anoptical collimator. The reticle is illuminated by an electronic light

source (anincandescent light bulbor, more recently, alight-emitting diode) or

by ambient light gathered behind the reticle via anopalescentwindow orfiber

opticlight pipe.

Applications: Very simple, rugged and low cost devices. Used on mortars and field guns.

Diopter sight
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The diopter sight is easy to use and usually allows for very accurate aiming,because a relative long sighting line can be used. A long sighting line helps to

reduce eventual angle errors and will, in case the sight has an incremental

adjustment mechanism, adjust in smaller increments when compared to a

further identical shorter sighting line.

Globe sight A globe sight is a frontsightcomponent used to assist the aiming of a

gun/device, usually those intended to launch projectiles, such as firearms,

airguns, and crossbows. It is found in particular as a front sight element onrifles.

Head-up displayHolographic weapon sight

A holographic weapon sight or holographic diffraction sight is a non-magnifyinggunsightthat allows the user to look through a glass optical window and see a

reticleimage superimposed at a distance on thefield of view.

Thehologramof the reticle is built into the window and is illuminated by alaserdiode.

Description

Internal light path of EOTech holographic sights.
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View through an EOTech 512 holographic weapon sight.

Applications: One drawback of a holographic sight is shorter battery life when compared to

reflex sights that use LEDs, such asred dot sights. Thelaser diodein a holographic sight uses

more power and has more complex driving electronics than a standard LED of an equivalent

brightness, reducing the amount of time a holographic sight can run on a single set of batteries.

Iron sight

Iron sights are a system of shaped alignment markers (usually metal) used as asighting deviceto assist in the aiming of a device such as afirearm,crossbow, or

telescope, and exclude the use ofopticsas intelescopic sightsorreflector

(reflex) sights.

Iron sights are typically composed of two component sights, formed by metalblades: a rear sight mounted perpendicular to the line of sight and consisting of

some form ofnotch (open sight) or aperture (closed sight); and a front sight that

is apost, bead, or ring.Civiliandefensive,hunting, andpolicefirearms usually

feature open sights, while many militarybattle riflesemploy aperture sights. On

many firearms the rear sight is adjustable forelevationorwindage.

Laser sight

a laser sight is a small, usually visible-light laser placed on a handgun or a rifleand aligned to emit a beam parallel to the barrel. Since a laser beam has low
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divergence, the laser light appears as a small spot even at long distances; the

user places the spot on the desired target and the barrel of the gun is aligned

(but not necessarily allowing forbullet drop,windage, distance between the

direction of the beam & the axis of the barrel and the target mobility while the

bullet travels).

Smith & Wesson revolver equipped with a laser sight mounted on thetrigger

guard.

Reflector sight

A reflector or reflex sight is a generally non-magnifyingoptical device thatallows the user to look through a partially reflecting glass element and see an

illuminated projection of an aiming point or some other image superimposed on

thefield of view.

These sights work on the simple optical principle that anything at the focus of alens or curved mirror (such as an illuminatedreticle) will look like it is sitting in

front of the viewer at infinity.

used as gunsightson all kinds of weapons, used onfighter aircraft, in a limitedcapacity inWorld War I, widely used inWorld War II, and still used as the base

component in many types of modernhead-up display, used in other types of

(usually large) weapons as well, such asanti-aircraft gunsights, anti tank gun

sights, and any other role where the operator had to engage fast moving targets

over a wide field of view, and the sight itself could be supplied with sufficient

electrical power to function.
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Gyro gunsight

o reflector sights adjusted by gyroscope for the aircraft's speed and rate of turn,enabling the display of a lead-adjusted sighting reticle that lagged the actual

"boresight" of the weapon(s), allowing the boresight to lead the target in a turnby the proper amount for an effective strike

Red dot sight

A view through a Tasco ProPoint "red dot sight".

A type that gives the user a simple bright red dot as an aiming point.

[34]

The typicalconfiguration for this sight is a compact curved mirror reflector design with a redLight-

emitting diode(LED) at its focus

Thermal Weapon Sight
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A Thermographic weapon sight or Thermal Weapon Sight is a device combining acompactthermographic cameraand an aiming reticle. They can be mounted on a

variety of small arms as well as some heavier weapons.

As with regular thermal sensors, thermal weapon sights can operate in totaldarkness or through light concealment (smoke, haze, fog, light rain). The thermal

scope can be quite useful in places with snow as the large contrast intemperatures between the snow (inherently cold) and any heat source (such as

humans) making it very easy to distinguish between the two.
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