Sure Fire, LLC was awarded a $16 million contract by the Naval Surface Warfare Center, for the delivery of Visible Bright Light Heavy (VBL-H) fire control device for the M2HB .50 caliber heavy machine gun. This application augments the capabilities of heavy crew served weapons in low-light or low observation situations. The device provides visible target designation to assist the gunners in target detection, recognition, and identification within the effective range of the M2HB heavy machine gun.
The VBL-H employs a LED light flashing at a high rate – strobe of up to 30 flashes per second, producing a high
intensity white light or infrared beam with low power consumption. The effective range is one kilometer. Beam angle can also be tuned from a 1° spot to 20°.
VBL-H is part of a day/night target acquisition and fire control solution for crew served weapons, known as MDNS-CSW. An Operator equipped with the MDNS-CSW system is able to recognize, engage, and defeat enemy personnel and targets during close-in or extended range combat in open terrain or urban area. The system comprises a day and night sights, the VBL-H illumination device, and high-power laser aiming light.
Fire control solutions are provided by the ballistic processor module that interfaces with all sights to provide targeting data and aiming corrections. The weapon employing the MDNS-CSW can be operated manually from a remote control unit configured with two-grip handler. MDNS-CSW is designed to match four typical crew-served weapons employed by the U.S. Special Forces, including the M2HB, .50 Cal heavy machine gun, the MK44 Minigun, M240 series 7.62mm medium machine guns and Series MK-19 and MK-47 automatic grenade launcher.
