MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va.—Marines recently received an innovative new optic that better prepares them to engage adversaries from longer distances.
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.
The SCO can be attached to the M4 and M4A1 Carbine as well as the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle. 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 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’s a system that improves situational awareness and decreases engagement times, greatly benefiting Marines.”
SCO an improvement over RCO
The SCO enables Marines to identify targets from farther distances than the existing RCO system.
Roger Boughton, MCSC’s lead engineer for the SCO program, said the RCO has a fixed magnification, whereas the SCO provides a variable power. This means Marines can use the SCO to identify targets at both close and far distances, providing twice the visual range of the RCO.
“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 they can use less rounds to overwhelm an enemy.”
Maj. 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 allows for movement to a different host weapon and accommodates the employment of the M855, M855A1 or future ammunition.
“It’s all about making an accurate decision,” said Padilla. “The SCO gives squad leaders or individual riflemen more time to make a decision to eliminate that threat if necessary.”
The system is also easy to assemble. The SCO includes a mount that prevents Marines from needing to carry tools to remove or exchange the optic, lightening the load for Marines.
“If you want to mount it onto the rail of the weapon, you don’t need a wrench to tighten anything,” said Boughton. “You just need your hands.”
‘A step in the right direction’
The SCO program moved rapidly from program designation to fielding in just 16 months. 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.
During these evaluations, Marines raved about the benefits of the SCO and its improvement over the existing system.
“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. “Marines have expressed excitement over this capability.”
CWO4 Gerald Eggers, the infantry weapons officer at The Basic School, participated in the system’s fielding in January, aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia. He commended the scope’s variable power magnification as well as its ability to be employed with different ammunition and weapons.
“Marines with M27s will greatly benefit with this scope,” said Eggers. “I certainly believe the SCO fielding is a step in the right direction.”
Dever 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.
“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.
The program office anticipates the weapon reaching Full Operational Capability in fiscal year 2022.
Story by Matt Gonzales, Marine Corps Systems Command
Now if only we could ditch the PEQ-16’s and get NGAL’s and lose the M4/M4A1’s and M27’s in favor of16” and 12.5” variants of the AFSOC LMT uppers.
USMC buys light weight anvil disguised as an optic..
twice as long and 3x as heavy, win win
M-27 8lbs
Trijicon 2lbs
peq16 10oz
mag 17.7oz
sling 5oz
~12lbs of pricelessness
Don’t forget the 22oz N4 Suppressor.
I understand that these weapons are going to be given to combat arms Marines, but over a meter long and over 5 kg, this thing is unwieldy. We all know the Soldier (or in this case Marine) will end up with more crap to carry as the battlefield advances. A 5+ kg weapon with 50kg of other equipment is going to destroy these poor souls.
Who makes it, and what model? Any pros/cons/comparisons to other options from the knowledgeable community?
It’s a Trijicon VCOG 1-8X or 1-6x. It’s heavy compared to any competing variable optic in the same class. It’s huge and the glass is mediocre. The reticle illumination is battery powered and the battery life isn’t impressive like an AimPoint RDS. Public retail on the 1-8x version is $2800. I don’t know what kinda deal the Corps got but I’d buy a NightForce 1-8xATACR or Kahles with a nice mount for that kinda coin.
The downside of my choices is I can’t use them as a hammer.
The ELCAN is heavier, I think. It’s not a variable zoom either so it’s a different class of combat optic IMHO.
The SCO is a Trijicon VCOG 1-8×28 with an MRAD reticle.
There are likely few LPVOs that are this robust. Comparisons of specific features often depend on what they are used for.
I am surprised they webt 1-8 (would have thought 1-6 which is also 10oz lighter), but Trijicon optics are generally rather bombproof with decent glass.
Many other LPVOs are SFP- but that would be a poor choice for this application. An MRAD reticle is also an excellent choice instead of a BDC. Some people think it’s difficult- but once you know learn holdoffs for that specific round, it’s the same thing AND can be used to estimate distances or measure tgt sizes. Win/win.
A comparison could be made to the ELCAN Spectre DR, but those only have a throw lever so they are only low OR max, and the durability of zero based on the mount is often mixed.
Trijicon is not even in NF playing field. The NF ATACR will eat this scope…at the same price points. The VCOG is not an ACOG and doubt it will handle the same abuse. Because a company makes its name on building a scope that doubles as a hammer or shovel does not mean it will carry across their whole line up…unless it is an Elcan. As for the Elcan mount and zero bullshit, update the mount as it’s not hard. Having two Elcans, I have zero issues with zero on either. USMC really missed the target by choosing this over the ATACR, IMO.
An improvement over the RCOs, to be sure, but LPTA and existing relationships bites again.
Even a Vortex 1-10x in either MRAD or BDC would be a better deal than that VCOG thingy
The fogging is real.
No matter how many $$$ you put infront of some goggles, the bottleneck of fogging will always stay these lame protective Oakleys. They rather should finaly find some solution to the fogging problem, be it a mix of some active fan in conjunction with the newest coatings out there and some “thermal glass” double layer, or be it something else. But after 20 years we have to find a solution for that issue.
The solution is take off the stupid and useless mask, especially outside! Virus is sensitive to UV light. And, in a real war/training environment your number 1 concern is COVID???
If it is, we already lost due to political PC ROE’s.
Look closer. His goggles are fogging up because he has his nose covered by his “face-covering”. We got issued goggles with fans in them years ago, batt life was shite. We always face fogging up, especially in very humid environments even with non sealed eye-pro. It’s toss up. No eye-pro, no problems! Lol
“The SCO can be attached to the M4 and M4A1 Carbine as well as the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle.”
Will also fit an M16 A4 or M2 A1 or M107 or anything with a STANAG 4694 rail. That’s the point of having a common standardized mounting interface.
They said that because those are their standard rifles.