Aimpoint AB

Aktiebolag

Aktiebolag is the Swedish term for "limited company" or "corporation". When used in company names, it is abbreviated "AB" or "Ab"...

 is a Swedish

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 optics

Optics

Optics is the branch of physics which involves the behavior and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behavior of visible, ultraviolet, and infrared light...

 company manufacturing red dot sight

Red dot sight

A red dot sight is a common classification for a type of non-magnifying reflector sight for firearms that gives the user an aimpoint in the form of an illuminated red dot...

s for civilian, police and military use. The most popular model is the CompM2 (M68)

Aimpoint CompM2

The CompM2 is a battery powered non-magnifying red dot type of reflex sight for firearms manufactured by Aimpoint AB. In the U.S. military, it is designated M68 Close Combat Optic and is also known as M68 Aimpoint and is designed to meet United States military standards...

, currently used by numerous armed forces around the world.

Company

The Aimpoint AB is a manufacturing company founded in 1974 and is based in Malmo, Sweden. Their primary products are reflector (or reflex) sights

Reflector sight

A reflector or reflex sight is a generally non-magnifying optical device that allows the user to look through a partially reflecting glass element and see an illuminated projection of an aiming point or some other image superimposed on the field of view...

, specifically the red dot sight

Red dot sight

A red dot sight is a common classification for a type of non-magnifying reflector sight for firearms that gives the user an aimpoint in the form of an illuminated red dot...

 sub-type. In 1975 they introduced their first commercial product, the "Aimpoint Electronic" red dot sight, based on a design by Helsingborg

Helsingborg

Helsingborg is a city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 97,122 inhabitants in 2010. Helsingborg is the centre of an area in the Øresund region of about 320,000 inhabitants in north-west Scania, and is Sweden's closest point to Denmark, with the Danish city...

 engineer John Arne Ingemund Ekstrand. This is claimed to be the first light-emitting diode

Light-emitting diode

A light-emitting diode is a semiconductor light source. LEDs are used as indicator lamps in many devices and are increasingly used for other lighting...

 "red dot" reflector sight ever manufactured. They currently offer many product lines based on this technology as well as accessories. In 1997 Aimpoint was awarded the first multi-year military contract ever for a red dot sighting system when the US Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 purchased their Aimpoint CompM2

Aimpoint CompM2

The CompM2 is a battery powered non-magnifying red dot type of reflex sight for firearms manufactured by Aimpoint AB. In the U.S. military, it is designated M68 Close Combat Optic and is also known as M68 Aimpoint and is designed to meet United States military standards...

, designated the “M68 Close Combat Optic”.

Products

Aimpoint currently sells a large line of red dot sights marketed to hunters, marksmens, law-enforcement agencies, and military organizations all over the world. More than 500,000 Aimpoint sights are in military service today.

All of their products use non-magnifying optical collimators (reflector or "reflex" sights) along with battery powered light-emitting diodes to produce a red aiming point. Some models come in sub-types with lenses added to give them a low magnification. Many sights utilize a type of mangin mirror

Mangin mirror

In optics, a Mangin mirror is a negative meniscus lens with the reflective surface on the rear side of the glass forming a curved mirror that reflects light without spherical aberration...

 system, consisting of a meniscus lens corrector element

Meniscus corrector

A meniscus corrector is a negative meniscus lens that is used to correct spherical aberration in image-forming optical systems such as catadioptric telescopes...

 combined with the semi-reflective mirror (what Aimpoint's advertising calls a "two lens" or "double lens" system), that compensates for off axis spherical aberration

Spherical aberration

thumb|right|Spherical aberration. A perfect lens focuses all incoming rays to a point on the [[Optical axis|optic axis]]. A real lens with spherical surfaces suffers from spherical aberration: it focuses rays more tightly if they enter it far from the optic axis than if they enter closer to the...

, an error that can cause the dot position to diverge off the sight's optical axis

Optical axis

An optical axis is a line along which there is some degree of rotational symmetry in an optical system such as a camera lens or microscope.The optical axis is an imaginary line that defines the path along which light propagates through the system...

 with change in eye position. Some sights also offer some correction for parallax via having the aiming dot focused at a distance of 50 yards. Aimpoint markets their sights as "parallax free", but this seems to refer to their off-axis spherical aberration correction system. Aimpoints, like all other collimated sight systems, induce some parallax at different ranges do to the nature of the collimator.

CET models

These models use Aimpoints "Circuit Efficiency Technology" (CET) diode circuitry, a low power consumption system:

• Aimpoint CompM2
  Aimpoint CompM2
  The CompM2 is a battery powered non-magnifying red dot type of reflex sight for firearms manufactured by Aimpoint AB. In the U.S. military, it is designated M68 Close Combat Optic and is also known as M68 Aimpoint and is designed to meet United States military standards...
  
  : The standard military red dot sight, designated M68 CCO (Close Combat Optic) by the US Army. Four MOA
  Minute of arc
  A minute of arc, arcminute, or minute of angle , is a unit of angular measurement equal to one sixtieth of one degree. In turn, a second of arc or arcsecond is one sixtieth of one minute of arc....
  
   and night vision
  Night vision goggles
  A night vision device is an optical instrument that allows images to be produced in levels of light approaching total darkness. They are most often used by the military and law enforcement agencies, but are available to civilian users...
  
   compatible.
• Aimpoint CompML2: Same as CompM2, but lacks night vision
  Night vision goggles
  A night vision device is an optical instrument that allows images to be produced in levels of light approaching total darkness. They are most often used by the military and law enforcement agencies, but are available to civilian users...
  
   compatibility.
• Aimpoint LPI
• Aimpoint CS Model issued to the Swedish Armed Forces
  Swedish Armed Forces
  The Swedish Armed Forces is a Swedish Government Agency responsible for the operation of the armed forces of the Realm. The primary task of the agency is to train, organize and to deploy military forces, domestically and abroad, while maintaining the long-term ability to defend the Realm in the...
  
  .

ACET models

These models use Aimpoints "Advanced Circuit Efficiency Technology" (ACET) diode circuitry, a newer low power consumption system introduced in 2005:

• Aimpoint PRO: a.k.a. Patrol Rifle Optic. Launched in January 2011, marketed to law enforcement for usage on patrol rifles, shotguns, and sub-machine guns. Available in 2 MOA model with a battery life of 30,000 hours. Uses 2L76 or DL1/3N battery.
• Aimpoint CompM4
  Aimpoint CompM4
  The Aimpoint CompM4 is a non-magnified red dot style gun sight adopted by the U.S. military. It is produced by the Swedish company Aimpoint AB and is the successor to the earlier Aimpoint CompM2.-Overview:...
  
  : The latest version of the military M68 Close Combat Optic. Two MOA
  Minute of arc
  A minute of arc, arcminute, or minute of angle , is a unit of angular measurement equal to one sixtieth of one degree. In turn, a second of arc or arcsecond is one sixtieth of one minute of arc....
  
   dot and uses standard AA battery. Night Vision Compatible.
• Aimpoint CompM4s: Same specifications as the Aimpoint CompM4, but it comes with a low battery compartment.
• Aimpoint CompM3: Available in 2 and 4 MOA models. Night vision
  Night vision goggles
  A night vision device is an optical instrument that allows images to be produced in levels of light approaching total darkness. They are most often used by the military and law enforcement agencies, but are available to civilian users...
  
   compatible.
• Aimpoint CompML3: Same as CompM3, but lacks night vision compatibility.
• Aimpoint Micro H-1: The smallest sight in the Aimpoint family, only 105grams including the mount. Comes in 4 MOA dot.
• Aimpoint Micro T-1: The police and military version in the Micro series, comes in a matt black finish with NVD capabilities.
• Aimpoint MPS3: A machine gun sight which uses the same type electronics as the Aimpoint CompM4.

Accessories

• Aimpoint 3XMag: 3× magnification module for Aimpoint sights.

Featured behind an eotech.

• Aimpoint LPI: Infrared laser sight to be mounted on either a Picatinny rail or directly on some of the CompML or CompM sights.
• Aimpoint CEU (Concealed Engagement Unit): Mounted on the Aimpoint TM (TwistMount) behind the Aimpoint sight. Allows the user to engage the target from a protected position.

Discontinued Aimpoint models

• Aimpoint Electronic (1975) - Aimpoint's first product and the first mass produced "red dot sight".
• Aimpoint Electronic G2 (1978)
• Aimpoint Mark III (1983) - first model to have internal adjustments.
• Aimpoint 2000 (1985) - ring mounted, auto light adjust.
• Aimpoint 1000 (1987)
• Aimpoint Bow (1987)
• Aimpoint 3000 (1989) - a sight with 1" (25.4 mm) tube. It is used by the French GIGN on G-3 TGS
  Heckler & Koch G3
  The G3 is a 7.62mm battle rifle developed in the 1950s by the German armament manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH in collaboration with the Spanish state-owned design and development agency CETME ....
  
   and sometimes on Remington 870
  Remington 870
  The Remington Model 870 is a U.S.-made pump-action shotgun manufactured by Remington Arms Company, Inc. It is widely used by the public for sport shooting, hunting, and self-defense. It is also commonly used by law enforcement and military organizations worldwide.-Development:The Remington 870 was...
  
  ; it is thought to have been used, or to be in use still, by Navy SEALs on the M4A1
  M4 Carbine
  The M4 carbine is a family of firearms tracing its lineage back to earlier carbine versions of the M16, all based on the original AR-15 designed by Eugene Stoner and made by ArmaLite. It is a shorter and lighter variant of the M16A2 assault rifle, with 80% parts commonality.It is a gas-operated,...
  
  
• Aimpoint 5000 (1991)
• Aimpoint Comp (1991) - pistol sight
• Aimpoint CompM/ML (1997)
• Aimpoint 5000 XD (1999) - improved "XD" diode for brightness/battery life.
• Aimpoint 5000 XD 2x (1999) - 2× magnification
• Aimpoint CompM/ML XD (1999)
• Aimpoint CompML 2X (1999) - 2× magnification
• Aimpoint Comp XD (1999)
• Aimpoint CompC (2001)
• Aimpoint CompC 2X (2001) - 2× magnification
• Aimpoint CompC SM (2001)
• Aimpoint 7000S (2001) - full-length sight for hunting and sport-shooting rifles.
• Aimpoint 7000S 2X (2001) - 2× magnification
• Aimpoint 7000SC (2001)
• Aimpoint 7000SC 2X (2001) - 2× magnification
• Aimpoint 7000SC SM (2001)
• Aimpoint 7000L (2001)
• Aimpoint 7000L 2X (2001) - 2× magnification
• Aimpoint MPSII (2002) - designed for military use, medium or heavy support weapons.
• Aimpoint CompC3 (2005)
• Aimpoint CompC3 2X (2005) - 2× magnification
• Aimpoint CompC3 (4MOA) (2005)
• Aimpoint 9000L (2005) - full-length sight for hunting and sport-shooting rifles.
• Aimpoint 9000L 2X (2005) - 2× magnification
• Aimpoint 9000SC 2X (2005) - 2× magnification
• Aimpoint 9000 SC Camo (2005)
• Aimpoint Micro R-1 (2007) - handgun/hunter model, same as the H-1 but instead of the black finish the R-1 comes in a Silver finish.