Something more on Aimpoint Duty RDS
Announced in early January 2022, ahead of the yearly Shot Show convention that takes place in Las Vegas, the new Duty RDS red-dot sight designed by Aimpoint mostly for the Law Enforcement market will be available in Europe in Q3 2022 with an international reference pricing of 430 €.
A lightweight attachment, 108 grams the sight only and 161 grams the sight fitted with the 39 mm one-piece TNP (Torsion Nut Picatinny) mount and spacer, the Duty RDS has a x1 magnification and a 2 MOA red dot. It has an 18 mm diameter clear aperture, lenses being provided with multi-layer anti-reflex coating and ensuring over 85% light transmission in the 420-620 nm band. The new Aimpoint sight is provided with flip-up front and rear lens covers that can be used to protect lenses or to aim into direct sunlight, and allow to engage targets with covers closed in emergency situations..
The red dot is night vision compatible, four NVG settings (1-4) being available beside the six settings (5-10) for daylight operations. Setting is done through up and down push-buttons of the digital keypad located on the lower- left side of the sight, the Duty RDS being set at level 7 when switched on by pressing one of the two buttons, which can easily be operated also when wearing gloves. Power is provided by a single CR2032 battery, located on the right side, which ensures 30,000 hours of operation at setting n.7 and at room temperature, thanks to the Advanced Circuit Efficiency Technology diode circuitry adopted in the sight, which dramatically decreases battery consumption. According to Aimpoint no optical signature is visible at 10-meter distance, front side, on appropriate settings with night vision devices. The Duty RDS can operate in the -45°C to +71°C temperature range, and can be submersed to 25 meters.
Zeroing is done through the windage and elevation turrets, located on top and on the right side of the sight, both flush-mounted and waterproof. A Torx T10 tool is provided to zero the sight, one click corresponding to 15 mm at 100 meters distance. The tool is also needed to install the sight, removing locking bar from the mount and reinserting and tightening it once the sight is positioned at the right place. A 39 mm and a 30 mm mounts are available, these being fitted to the sight using four screws. The Duty RDS housing is made of pressure forged aluminium with hard anodised non-reflective black finishing, the sight being 80 mm long, 38 mm wide and 67 mm high.
Aimpoint proposes its Duty RDS as main optic for law enforcement use, as well as secondary optic, allowing close-quarter aiming when a magnification sight is mounted on the weapon as primary sighting system.
Photos courtesy Aimpoint