Brief History
Ring Sights the company was created in 1976, the founding members being Brigadier Fraser Scott [retd] and the Naval designer Ray Budden of the Admiralty Gunnery Establishment at Teddington. The Pair had worked together on technical sighting devices during their time with the MOD. Fraser Scott was also the founder of the Defence Manufacturing Association in 1976.The pair worked on many sighting devices with novel solid glass construction quite unique small and innovative.
The LC 7-40 made and designed for the M16 carry handle was the first mass produced Ring sight, circa 1980, Shaun Elliott the current managing director worked on those early sights for an optics company based in Hastings.
During this time the RC25 was developed for the GPMG and marketed by Hall and Watts also the RC35 for BMARC 20mm and 30mm Cannons the RC35 was superseded by the LC40 RN DTC this is still being sold and serviced for Naval ships around the world.
In the Mid 80’s Ring Sights designed the sight for the Law 80 anti-tank weapon made by Hunting Engineering. 160,000 were made for the British army over the next 5 years, made by a company in Rye run by Shaun Elliott Electronic Optics. Ian Flack became the Chairman of Ring Sights Fraser with Ray retiring.
1990’s
In the early 1990’s FN Herstal had started work on the FNP90 they came to Ring Sights for an integrated light weight sight, over 90000 HC14 sights were produced by Electronic Optics.
These sights were NVG compatible with tritium night illumination.
For the US secret service, a special unit powered black telescope was developed with a black anodised metal housing this again had tritium dual illumination and NVG compatible. A version has now been specially designed for the Civilian PS90. This has a dual graticule, day Black or Green electronically illuminated but no tritium and sold through Kingsview Optical.
In the Mid 1990’s The army air Corp were looking for a sight to put on the M3M for door mounting on the Lynx, Ring Sights developed the LC40 -100 with IR illumination built in, this product is still in service on all UK forces Helicopter platforms for use with the M3M M134 M60, The sight now has a Variable beam Target illuminator VBTIL.
Propelled grenades due to their looping trajectory are difficult to fit with sights and still see the entire range. Ring sights developed with the help from ITDU a sight for the British army for the IMI bullet trap grenade, this was used on the SA80 and fitted around the Susat sight approximately 15000 supplied.
2000s
In 2005 Saab Dynamics was working to replace the Law 80 Anti-Tank weapon for the British army with the NLAW, Ring Sights developed the RC12 as the reserve sight for Saab and Thales Air defence. In the late 2000’s Ring Sights won the contract to produce over 25000 sight’s for the British MOD unfortunately before this contract was completed the charismatic Chairman Ian Flack was diagnosed with terminal cancer & sadly Ian died in 2010. Shaun Elliot had been supplying Ring Sights from the company he had started in 1996 with his wife Sarah called Kingsview Optical. Shaun had been involved in supplying Ring Sights since the early 80’s so it made perfect sense for Kingsview Optical to buy Ring Sights and keep things moving forward.
A collaboration with H & K saw the first Ring Sight for use with underslung low velocity 40 mm rounds this was the LC 14-65. This has now become the LC-30 Grenadier. It has been adopted by a number of forces around the world, its quite unique and fills the void between full fire control and ladder sights. It is designed in the true tradition of Ring Sights robust and NVG compatible.
This is a brief description of some but not all the custom optical sight’s over the years, if you have a custom sighting requirement let us know and become part of the story.