Advanced Electronic Sights Developed by Russia

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Russia is developing a wide range of new electronic sights for small arms and machine guns. The state corporate Rostec unveiled the first Russian red dot sight for mounted heavy machine guns (HMGs). The collimator sight forms a luminous mark (red dot) in the shooter’s field of view to pinpoint the target. 

The device, which has been developed by its subsidiary Roselektronika was initially intended for the Kord-family 12.7 mm HMG; however, it can be installed on other machine guns chambered for high-caliber cartridges. 

“The sight allows [an operator of] an HMG, which is mounted on a moving platform, namely, an armored vehicle, a boat, or a helicopter, to engage targets in an effective manner,” said the press department of Rostec. 

The new ruggedized red dot sight withstands heavy recoils and increases the accuracy of firing and the speed of aiming. The sight has a wide field-of-view (20°) and a sighting mark adjustment mechanism that allows accurate firing at distances of 400 m, 800 m, and 1,200 m, according to armyrecognition.com.

“Initially, the sight has been developed for mounted heavy automatic weapons, namely, the Kord 12.7 mm HMG that can be integrated into the armament suites of armored vehicles, boats, and helicopters… A shooter can control and engage targets at distances of more than 1,000 m, using our new development; moreover, the sight’s wide field of view will prevent him from losing any target. According to the results of trials, the sight increases the accuracy of firing by several times,” said a spokesperson for Rosel.

Russia’s industry also largely invests in the development of thermal imaging cameras. In March, Rostec announced the completion of the development of the first indigenous cooling thermal imager. The thermal imager can be the cornerstone of onboard observation systems, man-portable devices, and stationary observation complexes. The new thermal imager features the structures of quantum well-infrared photodetector (QWIP) and has been fitted with a 640×512 matrix and a diffractive infrared optics-based infrared camera lens.