#SquadCommonOptic

The United States Marine Corps made the decision back in early 2020 to equip its infantrymen with a universal weapon optic by adopting the Trijicon VCOG (Variable Combat Optical Gunsight) 1-8×28 riflescope as the Squad Common Optic (SCO). After an extensive evaluation process, Trijicon emerged as the chosen manufacturer for the SCO along with their 1-8x28mm VCOG optic. The contract would secure about $64,000,000 for the 19,000 units the USMC ended up ordering and delivery began in February of 2021 with the final units being delivered sometime this year (2023). The optic was meant to be primarily fielded on the M4 carbine and the M27 IAR (Infantry Automatic Rifle). However, as stated by the Marine Corps themselves, the optic is intended to be as ammunition and weapon system agnostic as possible which should mean it can easily be adapted to be effectively used on virtually any platform. Today we’re going to put that theory to the test by putting the legendary durability of the Trijicon VCOG up against the unstoppable force that is the FN SACR 17 – a rifle that is infamous for destroying nearly every optic put on it.

The United States Marine Corps (USMC) has begun fielding a new standard magnified day optic for its small arms that will allow their infantry to engage adversaries at greater distances.

Eary in 2019 the United States Marine Corps issued an RFI (Request For Information) regarding a combat optic for wide distribution among Marine Corps Infantry dubbed the Squad Common Optic (SCO). The RFI included various requests such as specific weight requirements, magnification range, adjustment range and, specific eye relief. You can view the basics of the RFI from our previous article on it here.

The US Marine Corps have released a request for information (RFI) notice calling for a new rifle optic, the Squad Common Optic. The idea of having a Squad Common Optic has been around for a couple of years, an RFI for the 1-8x optic was first released back in August 2017.