11 This document contains DRS Technologies proprietary information. Copyright © 2012 DRS Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved. Rail Mounts Trade Study

11This document contains DRS Technologies proprietary information. Copyright © 2012 DRS Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Rail Mounts Trade Study

Duke Ngo


Objective: Trade various rail mounts designs to meet the AWST desired capabilities.

Companies:•DRS-RSTA•LaRue Tactical (Austin, TX)•Atlantic Research Marketing Systems Inc. (A.R.M.S)•American Defense Manufacturing•Alamo Four Star•Global Defense Initiative (GDI) Engineering

Requirements:

3.1.1.1. Weapon Rail Interface.

The IWS shall interface to the MIL-STD-1913 rail for the weapons listed above (T). The IWS shall interface to the STANAG 4694 rail (O).

3.1.1.17. Weapon/IWS accuracy.

The IWS, when installed or removed from the host weapon, shall not degrade the inherent accuracy of the host weapon system. The IWS shall not be significantly affected by the operational characteristics of the host weapon. Momentary upsets due to firing or shading due to barrel heating are not considered significant. In automatic gain control, barrel heating shall not affect the automatic gain value applied in the critical area of the display.

Background




STANAG 4694(Units = mm)

MIL-STD-1913 Rev A(Units = inch)

Rail Cross Section Comparison

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/M1913A_Rail_CrossSection.svg



Gap

Gap

Engagement

Engagement

Spring Loaded Retention

Mechanism

Manufacturer DRS-RSTAManufacturer P/N 400109Length (in) 3.48Weight (g) 65Latch Type Screw TurnRail Protection Feature YesNATO Recommended Interface YesCost $85

DRS 400109


Locking Mechanism

Gap

Adjustment Nut

Cam Lever Retention

Mechanism

Link: Click Here

Engagement

Manufacturer LaRue TacticalManufacturer P/N LT735Length (in) 2.86Weight (g) 53Latch Type Lever LatchRail Protection Feature NoNATO Recommended Interface NoCost $79

LaRue Tactical LT735

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaGKH8oxQ8o&feature=player_embedded


Locking Mechanism

Cam Lever Retention

Mechanism

3.60

.75

1.98

Gap

Engagement

Manufacturer American Defense MFGManufacturer P/N AD-B3Length (in) 3.6Weight (g) 81Latch Type Lever LatchRail Protection Feature YesNATO Recommended Interface YesCost $80

American Defense MFG AD-B3


Gap

2.50

1.78

.51

Locking Mechanism

Cam Lever Retention

Mechanism

Engagement

Manufacturer A.R.M.SManufacturer P/N #17Length (in) 2.50Weight (g) 48Latch Type Lever LatchRail Protection Feature NoNATO Recommended Interface NoCost $74

A.R.M.S #17


Spring Loaded Retention

Mechanism

2.50

3.51

.60

Gap

Engagement

Manufacturer Alamo Four StarManufacturer P/N DLOC-TLength (in) 3.51Weight (g) 81Latch Type Screw TurnRail Protection Feature YesNATO Recommended Interface YesCost $119

Alamo Four Star

Link: Click Here

http://youtu.be/rX32jLk30T0


Cam Lever Retention

Mechanism

Locking Mechanism

3.67

2.18

.66Engagement

Gap

Manufacturer Global Defense InitiativesManufacturer P/N RCMELength (in) 2.1Weight (g) 113Latch Type Lever LatchRail Protection Feature YesNATO Recommended Interface NoCost $185

Global Defense Initiatives (GDI)


Scorecard

Score Parameter: Weight: Less than 50g=5, 51 to 60g=4, 61g to 75g=3, 76g to 95g=2, and 96g or greater =1.

Latch type: Combo =5, Lever Latch =3, and Screw Turn=1.NATO Recom. Interface: Yes =5 and No=1

Adjustment Feature: Auto=5, Yes=4, Yes/Tool=2, and No=1.Rail Protection Feature: Yes =5 and No=1

Cost Basis: 1X=5, 1.01 to 1.10=4, 1.11 to 1.50=3, 1.51 to 2.00=2, and greater 2.01=1.

ManufacturerMFGP/N

Length (in)

Weight (g)

Weight Score Latch Type

L.T.Score

NATO Recom

InterfaceInterface

ScoreAdjustment

FeatureAdj

Score

Rail Protection

FeatureR. P.

Score

Cost Basis(X)

CostScore

Score Total

Alamo Four Star DLOC-T 3.51 81.0 2 Combo 5 Yes 5 Auto 5 Yes 5 1.61 2 3.95American Defense MFG AD-B3 3.60 81.0 2 Lever Latch 3 Yes 5 Yes 4 Yes 5 1.08 4 3.90DRS-RSTA 400109 3.48 65.0 3 Screw Turn 1 Yes 5 Auto 5 Yes 5 1.15 3 3.70A.R.M.S #17 2.50 48.0 5 Lever Latch 3 No 1 No 1 No 1 1.00 5 2.70LaRue Tactical LT735 2.86 53.0 4 Lever Latch 3 No 1 Yes/Tool 2 No 1 1.07 4 2.50Global Defense Initiatives RCME 2.10 113.0 1 Lever Latch 3 No 1 Yes/Tool 2 Yes 5 2.50 1 2.05Weighted Percent 15% 15% 20% 15% 15% 20% 100%


Alamo Four Star has best score followed by American Defense Mfg.

• Comply with NATO rail engagement interface.

• Have quick latching mechanism.• Have adjustment capability

requiring no tool.

Additional Testing• Perform return to zero testing

using in house collimator and TWS test setup.

• Perform weapon fire isolation testing using in house weapon simulator.

• Perform zero retention testing under endurance weapon fire using weapon simulator.

Recommendations

M4 Weapon Simulator

Large Lab Collimator

Stage Mount System with multi axis adjustments/measurements

Documents

11 This document contains DRS Technologies proprietary information. Copyright © 2012 DRS Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved. Rail Mounts Trade Study