Thermal sight specifically for sharpshooters and snipers

British photonic product and solutions provider Qioptiq, an Excelitas Technologies company, is exhibiting its new DRAGON-S12 in-line weapon sight on stand 12-377 (Hall 12) for the first time in Europe during this year’s Enforce Tac.

The new DRAGON-S12 is a thermal sight specifically for sharpshooters and snipers, and its in-line configuration allows personnel to retain their preferred optical day sight and simply place the Qioptiq sight in front during both night and visually-degraded operations. Militaries are now demanding more accurate target identification at greater ranges during night operations, matching the performance and reliability of day optics.

The company said the 1x magnification DRAGON-S12 is a response to a “recent shifting trend” to in-line configuration, which means the shooter does not have to swap scopes and so rifle zero, and other settings that the user is familiar with, are retained.

The sight utilises a 640×480 format 12µm, 60Hz uncooled thermal sensor coupled with a near silent shutter, which delivers world-leading sensitivity and uniformity. With the DRAGON-S12 attached, military and law enforcement snipers now have a lightweight and rugged thermal sight that delivers high performance and reliability for 24 hour surveillance and target engagement.

The DRAGON-S12 can attach to a rifle using standard Picatinny MIL-STD-1913 rail or STANAG 2324 NATO accessory rail via a quick release throw lever. According to Qioptiq data, the sight weighs 850g (without batteries) and can be powered by three 1.5v AA batteries for over 7 hours of continuous operation.

In addition, the company will exhibit its MERLIN-LR (Long Range) image intensified sight. This is a lightweight vision adaptor for both military and law enforcement snipers and sharpshooters, giving them the capability to retain their day scopes.

Grant Turnbull