The program office anticipates the weapon reaching Full Operational Capability in fiscal year 2022.A U.S. “The rapid acquisition and fielding of improved capabilities is vital to equipping the Marine Corps to operate inside actively contested maritime spaces in support of fleet operations,” said Dever. “I certainly believe the SCO fielding is a step in the right direction.”ĭever said the fielding of the SCO puts an improved capability into Marines’ hands more quickly and enables them to carry out their missions more efficiently and effectively. “Marines with M27s will greatly benefit with this scope,” said Eggers. He commended the scope’s variable power magnification as well as its ability to be employed with different ammunition and weapons. “Marines have expressed excitement over this capability.”ĬWO4 Gerald Eggers, the infantry weapons officer at The Basic School, participated in the system’s fielding in January, aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia. “Being able to shoot farther, identify targets at greater ranges and be more accurate will make them more lethal,” said CWO4 David Tomlinson, MCSC’s infantry weapons officer. After awarding a contract, PM IW conducted various user assessments, including a simulated 10,000-round fire exercise, during production verification testing to confirm performance and resolve issues.ĭuring these evaluations, Marines raved about the benefits of the SCO and its improvement over the existing system. The SCO program moved rapidly from program designation to fielding in just 16 months. “If you want to mount it onto the rail of the weapon, you don’t need a wrench to tighten anything,” said Boughton. The SCO includes a mount that prevents Marines from needing to carry tools to remove or exchange the optic, lightening the load for Marines. “The Squad Common Optic provides an improved day optic to infantry and infantry-like communities, including reconnaissance units." Tom Dever, project officer for Combat Optics at MCSC “The SCO gives squad leaders or individual riflemen more time to make a decision to eliminate that threat if necessary.” “It’s all about making an accurate decision,” said Padilla. This allows for movement to a different host weapon and accommodates the employment of the M855, M855A1 or future ammunition. Kyle Padilla, MCSC’s optics team lead and an infantry officer, said the SCO is agnostic to the round and weapon system, which provides additional flexibility for Marines. “This means they can use less rounds to overwhelm an enemy.” “Having an optic that can reach out to longer distances will ultimately make the Marine a more lethal first-shot shooter,” said Boughton. This means Marines can use the SCO to identify targets at both close and far distances, providing twice the visual range of the RCO. Roger Boughton, MCSC’s lead engineer for the SCO program, said the RCO has a fixed magnification, whereas the SCO provides a variable power. The SCO enables Marines to identify targets from farther distances than the existing RCO system. “It’s a system that improves situational awareness and decreases engagement times, greatly benefiting Marines.” “The Squad Common Optic provides an improved day optic to infantry and infantry-like communities, including reconnaissance units” said Tom Dever, project officer for Combat Optics at MCSC. It will supplement the attrition and replacement of the Rifle Combat Optic and the Squad Day Optic for each of those weapons for close-combat Marines. The SCO can be attached to the M4 and M4A1 Carbine as well as the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle. In January, Marine Corps Systems Command’s Program Manager for Infantry Weapons began fielding the Squad Common Optic-a magnified day optic comprising an illuminated and nonilluminated aim-point designed to improve target acquisition and probability-of-hit with infantry assault rifles. Marines recently received an innovative new optic that better prepares them to engage adversaries from longer distances.
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