Knight's Armament Company (KAC) is an American

firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

s and firearms parts manufacturer, best known for producing the Rail Interface System (RIS) and the Rail Adapter System (RAS) grips for firearms use. They currently produce a variety of firearms, specifically

AR-15 An AR-15-style rifle is any lightweight semi-automatic rifle based on the Colt AR-15 design. The original ArmaLite AR-15 is a scaled-down derivative of Eugene Stoner's ArmaLite AR-10 design. The then Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation d ...

rifles. One of their best known rifles is the

SR-25 The SR-25 (Stoner Rifle-25) is a designated marksman rifle and semi-automatic sniper rifle designed by Eugene Stoner and manufactured by Knight's Armament Company. The SR-25 uses a rotating bolt and a direct impingement gas system. It is loose ...

semi-automatic designated marksman rifle. KAC is owned by

C. Reed Knight C. or c. may refer to: * Century, sometimes abbreviated as ''c.'' or ''C.'', a period of 100 years * Cent (currency), abbreviated ''c.'' or ''¢'', a monetary unit that equals of the basic unit of many currencies * Caius or Gaius, abbreviated as ...

and is based in

Titusville, Florida Titusville is a city in eastern Florida and the county seat of Brevard County, Florida, United States. The city's population was 43,761 as of the 2010 United States Census. Titusville is located along the Indian River (Florida), Indian River, west ...

. Knight's Manufacturing Company (KMC) is the division of KAC responsible for products aimed at the civilian market.

History

The United States military, as well as special forces and police around the world use KAC RIS/RAS conversions for many popular firearms, including the American

M16 The M16 rifle (officially designated Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of military rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States military. The original M16 rifle was a 5.56×45mm automatic rifle with a 20-roun ...

/ M4 rifles and the popular

Heckler & Koch MP5 The Heckler & Koch MP5 (german: Maschinenpistole 5) is a 9x19mm Parabellum submachine gun, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch. There are over 100 variants and clones of the MP5, ...

series

submachine gun A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine-fed, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to describe its design concept as an autom ...

s. The RIS/RAS system allows for the mounting of accessories to firearms without additional tools or modifications, and is used, alongside a KAC suppressor and forward grip on the "Special Operations Peculiar MODification" (

SOPMOD The Special Operations Peculiar MODification (SOPMOD) kit is an accessory system for the M4A1 carbine, CQBR, FN SCAR Mk 16/17, HK416 and other weapons used by United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), though it is not specific to SOCO ...

) M4 carbine package in use by

United States Special Operations Command The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM or SOCOM) is the unified combatant command charged with overseeing the various special operations component commands of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force of the United States Arm ...

(USSOCOM). These can include tactical flashlights, laser targeting units,

bipod A bipod is a V-shaped portable attachment that helps support and steady a device, usually a weapon such as a long gun or a mortar. The term comes from the Latin prefix ''bi-'' and Greek root ''pod'', meaning "two" and "foot" respectively. Bipod ...

s, and

vertical foregrip A vertical forward grip or foregrip is a vertical pistol grip mounted on the fore-end of a long-barrel firearm, designed for grasping by the frontal support hand (or "off hand"). Use Forward grips aid in the maneuverability of the firearm, ...

s. In addition, KAC produces

sound suppressors A silencer, also known as a sound suppressor, suppressor, or sound moderator, is a Gun barrel#Muzzle, muzzle device that reduces the Sound intensity, acoustic intensity of the muzzle report (sound of a gunshot) and muzzle rise when a gun (fir ...

for the

Heckler & Koch Mark 23 The Heckler & Koch MK 23, MK 23 MOD 0, Mark 23, or USSOCOM MARK 23 is a semi-automatic large-frame pistol chambered in .45 ACP, designed specifically to be an offensive pistol. The USSOCOM version of the MK23 came paired with a laser aiming modul ...

SOCOM pistol. KAC also produces a line of clip-on night vision and thermal weapon sights, including the AN/PVS-22 Universal Night Sight. KAC produces mounts for optics and grenade launchers, as well as backup iron sights. Knight's Armament produces a line of firearms including the semi-automatic SR-15 line of rifles, the fully automatic SR-16 carbine, the semi-automatic SR-25 sniper rifle, the SR-25 based

Mark 11 Mod 0 Sniper Weapon System The SR-25 (Stoner Rifle-25) is a designated marksman rifle and semi-automatic sniper rifle designed by Eugene Stoner and manufactured by Knight's Armament Company. The SR-25 uses a rotating bolt and a direct impingement gas system. It is loose ...

and the

M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System The M110 Semi Automatic Sniper System (M110 SASS) is an American semi-automatic precision rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO round. It is manufactured by Knight's Armament Company, developed from the Knight's Armament Company SR ...

. KAC also produces the Stoner LMG in limited quantities. As their apparently most original design, KAC is producing the

Knight's Armament Company PDW The Knight's Armament Company 6×35mm PDW is an experimental personal defense weapon designed by Knight's Armament Company (KAC), firing a 6mm cartridge optimized for short barrel weapons. A variant chambered in .300 AAC Blackout is also availab ...

. In 2011, KAC has released the SR15/SR16 E3 line of rifles.

References

External links

* {{Knight's Armament Company Companies based in Brevard County, Florida Firearm manufacturers of the United States Titusville, Florida 1982 establishments in Florida Manufacturing companies based in Florida Manufacturing companies established in 1982