The SUIT sight is a 4×

telescopic sight A telescopic sight, commonly called a scope informally, is an optical sighting device based on a refracting telescope. It is equipped with some form of a referencing pattern – known as a ''reticle'' – mounted in a focally appropriate po ...

with

tritium Tritium ( or , ) or hydrogen-3 (symbol T or H) is a rare and radioactive isotope of hydrogen with half-life about 12 years. The nucleus of tritium (t, sometimes called a ''triton'') contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus o ...

-powered illumination, utilised at

dusk Dusk occurs at the darkest stage of twilight, or at the very end of astronomical twilight after sunset and just before nightfall.''The Random House College Dictionary'', "dusk". At predusk, during early to intermediate stages of twilight, enou ...

dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's horizo ...

. The full name is the L2A2 Sight Unit Infantry Trilux. The sight is not designed as a

sniper A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...

sight, but as a standard issue infantry sight to improve the infantryman's night fighting capability and to assist target identification at long range in daylight and in poor light conditions. The sight was mounted on the

L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle The L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle, officially "Rifle, 7.62mm, L1A1", also known just as the SLR (Self-Loading Rifle), by the Canadian Army designation C1A1 (C1) or in the US as the "inch pattern" FAL,Especially on the American surplus market. is a Br ...

GPMG A general-purpose machine gun (GPMG) is an air-cooled, usually ammunition belt, belt-fed machine gun that can be adapted flexibly to various tactical roles for light machine gun, light and medium machine guns. A GPMG typically features a quick-c ...

. It was first produced in 1976 by Avimo Ltd. in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Use

The sight is an optional optical sighting system for the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and was also used by the Australians and New Zealanders. The sight has a lever to change between a short range mode (300 meters) and a long range mode (500 meters). A similar unit known as the

SUSAT {{Other uses, Susat (disambiguation){{!Susat The Sight Unit Small Arms, Trilux, or SUSAT, is a 4× telescopic sight, with tritium-powered illumination utilised at dusk or dawn. The full name of the current model is the SUSAT L9A1. The sight i ...

was fitted to the SA80 series weapons.

Reticle

The

reticle A reticle, or reticule also known as a graticule, is a pattern of fine lines or markings built into the eyepiece of an optical device such as a telescopic sight, spotting scope, theodolite, optical microscope or the screen of an oscilloscope, ...

of the SUIT sight is of unusual design. Unlike the traditional crosshair layouts commonly used, which are in essence a cross intersecting the target, the SUIT has a single

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...

-shaped post protruding from the top edge of the sight so as not to obscure the target. The reticle is

-illuminated for low-light condition aiming. The radioactive tritium light source has to be replaced every 8–12 years, since it gradually loses its brightness due to

radioactive decay Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is consid ...

Manufacturing

The SUIT sight has an

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...

body, into which the eyepiece, objective

lens A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements''), ...

and prisms are fitted as assemblies. The SUIT sight was developed in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

by Royal Armaments Research Development Establishment (RARDE) and is manufactured by Avimo Ltd., now known as

Thales Thales of Miletus ( ; grc-gre, Θαλῆς; ) was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. He was one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regarded him ...

UK.

Specifications

SUIT L2A2 *Overall dimensions: (L x W x H): 188 x 76 x 69 mm *Weight: 340 grams *

Magnification Magnification is the process of enlarging the apparent size, not physical size, of something. This enlargement is quantified by a calculated number also called "magnification". When this number is less than one, it refers to a reduction in siz ...

: 4× *

Field of view The field of view (FoV) is the extent of the observable world that is seen at any given moment. In the case of optical instruments or sensors it is a solid angle through which a detector is sensitive to electromagnetic radiation. Humans a ...

: 8 degrees (140 mils) *

Objective Objective may refer to: * Objective (optics), an element in a camera or microscope * ''The Objective'', a 2008 science fiction horror film * Objective pronoun, a personal pronoun that is used as a grammatical object * Objective Productions, a Brit ...

diameter: 25.5 mm *

Exit pupil In optics, the exit pupil is a virtual aperture in an optical system. Only rays which pass through this virtual aperture can exit the system. The exit pupil is the image of the aperture stop in the optics that follow it. In a telescope or compoun ...

: 6.375 mm *

Eye relief {{Short description, Optical instrument The eye relief of an optical instrument (such as a telescope, a microscope, or binoculars) is the distance from the last surface of an eyepiece within which the user's eye can obtain the full viewing angle. ...

: 35 mm *Light permeability: 86% *Reticle illumination: Red tritium, glass ampoule *Illumination strength: Adjustable *Tritium ampoule lifetime: 8–12 years *Range Settings: 300 meters (rear) or 500 meters (forward). *NATO Stock Number (NSN): 1240-99-964-7647 (Sight Unit Infantry Trilux (SUIT) L2A2)

References

{{Reflist Firearm sights British Army equipment Military equipment introduced in the 1970s

Use

Reticle

Manufacturing

Specifications

See also

References