Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1258433
shooting with 553/EXPS3 sights zeroed in 23C degrees in extreme temperatures ranging from -40C to +50C (ac- cording to manual, sights can be used in -40C to +65C temps), the parallax effect and shift of point of impact was observed. The shift in extreme situations was even +4/-4 MOA. When not in use, the possible shift of POI could spontaneously change by +2/-2 MOA when the sights was in an extreme environment. The US Government sued EOTech, then part of L3, for suppres- sion of the problem with spontaneous change of the reticle location. In most extreme situations the shift was 12 inches on 300 yards (304,8 mm on 274,32 meters range). What was the case is the fact that such informa- tion was initially in the manual and tech specifications of the sights but was removed in later revisions. Another problem with HWS was the fogging between lenses and humidity reducing visibility of reticles. The humidity problem was solved (it cost around $25M) but the com- pany could not find a proper solution for thermal drift. Huge no-questions-asked recall was announced, and sights were either exchanged or cash was returned. The history of thermal drift has an intriguing ending. SOCOM withdrew all the EOTech 551/553/EXPS3 and quickly launched the Miniature Aiming System – Day research program for a new suite of weapon sights. One of the parts of the program was MAS-D Close Quarters Sight, the direct replacement for rifle sight. After extensive testing, SOCOM announced that the winner of MAS-D CQS is EOTech EXPS3 with improved electronics and G.33 magnifier. Ultimately, all the EOTech HWS were re- placed with… EOTech HWS. History circled back. GOING GREEN In 2018 EOTech decided to go green. Well, they did not become the first eco-friendly weapon sights manufac- turer with biodegradable hoods instead of aluminum ones but changed the red laser to a green one. The XPS2 and EXPS3 with GRN in the name are featuring a green laser. According to scientific researches, in the daylight, the human eye is seeing the green color (especially viv- id one) way faster. This means the target acquisition is quicker too. Even when looking through the sight on the green background (like vegetation), the reticle is clearer, brighter and more contrast than background. The green reticle is currently in -0 type reticle and it is not compat- ible with NODS. ACCESSORIES