The AN/PEQ-2 Infrared Target Pointer/Illuminator/Aiming Light (ITPIAL) is a

laser sight A laser sight is a device attached or integral to a firearm to aid target acquisition. Unlike Telescopic sight, optical and Iron sights, iron Sight (device), sights where the user looks through the device to aim at the target, laser sights projec ...

for use on

rifle A rifle is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a gun barrel, barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus o ...

s fitted with a

Picatinny rail The 1913 rail (MIL-STD-1913 rail) is an American rail integration system designed by Richard Swan that provides a mounting platform for firearm accessories. It forms part of the NATO standard STANAG 2324 rail. It was originally used for mount ...

. It was manufactured by

Insight Technology Insight Technology, Inc. is an optical device manufacturer based in Londonderry, New Hampshire, United States, USA. Insight Technology builds firearm accessories such as tactical light, tactical flashlights and Laser sight (firearms), laser aimi ...

. In accordance with the

Joint Electronics Type Designation System The Joint Electronics Type Designation System (JETDS), which was previously known as the Joint Army-Navy Nomenclature System (AN System. JAN) and the Joint Communications-Electronics Nomenclature System, is a method developed by the U.S. War Depa ...

(JETDS), the "''AN/PEQ-2''" designation represents the second design of an Army-Navy electronic device for portable laser combination equipment. The JETDS system also now is used to name all

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

electronic systems.

History

The AN/PEQ-2 succeeded the AN/PAQ-4C, which was designed in the early 1990s after the Persian

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

. It was widely used by US forces during the

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...

and the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

. The device is still seeing active service but is being withdrawn and replaced amongst

U.S. Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. U.S. federal law names six armed forces: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and the Coast Guard. Since 1949, all of the armed forces, except th ...

. It was also part of the U.S.

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) special forces units, though i ...

kit, though the device is being replaced by the new smaller LA-5/PEQ-15.

Operation

The AN/PEQ-2 has two

infrared Infrared (IR; sometimes called infrared light) is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than that of visible light but shorter than microwaves. The infrared spectral band begins with the waves that are just longer than those ...

laser emitters;one narrow beam used for aiming the rifle and one wide beam used for illuminating targets, like a

flashlight A flashlight (US English) or electric torch (Commonwealth English), usually shortened to torch, is a portable hand-held electric lamp. Formerly, the light source typically was a miniature incandescent light bulb, but these have been displaced ...

. The beams can only be seen through

night vision goggles A night-vision device (NVD), also known as a night optical/observation device (NOD) or night-vision goggle (NVG), is an optoelectronic device that allows visualization of images in low levels of light, improving the user's night vision. The ...

. Each beam can be zeroed independently, and the illuminator's radius is adjustable. The two lasers are tied into one 6-mode switch, which has the following modes: Turning the mode switch does not turn on the lasers. A recessed button on top of the device is tapped once to briefly turn on the lasers or tapped twice to turn the lasers on until deactivated, either by pressing a third time or by turning the mode switch to off. Additionally, an extra pressure switch can be plugged into the rear of the device and then placed virtually anywhere, limited only by the length of the pressure switch's cord; typically one to two feet. This pressure switch operates the same way as the recessed button.

AN/PEQ-2A

The AN/PEQ-2A upgrade incorporates a blue removable safety block which physically prevents turning the mode switch to any of the high-power modes, which are capable of causing eye damage. Both variants are waterproof to a depth of 20 meters and run on two

AA batteries The AA battery (or double-A battery) is a standard size single cell cylindrical dry battery. ANSI and IEC battery nomenclature gives several designations for cells in this size, depending on cell features and chemistry. The IEC 60086 system c ...

References

External links

Qualify with the AN/PEQ-2A
(Archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:AN/PEQ-2 Military electronics of the United States Firearm sights United States Marine Corps equipment Military equipment introduced in the 1990s Laser aiming modules

History

Operation

AN/PEQ-2A

See also

References

External links