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AN/PEQ-15

The Advanced Target Pointer / Illuminator / Aiming Light, ATPIAL AN/PEQ-15 known colloquially as the "PEQ-15" [] produced by L3Harris (originally designed and manufactured by Insight Technology, until their acquisition by L3Harris in 2010); is a multifunction IR Target Pointer & Illuminator, a.k.a. a Laser Aiming Module (LAM) for use as a rifle attachment, using a Picatinny rail mounting system.

The ATPIAL is designated using the Joint Electronics Type Designation System, and designated as: AN = Army/Navy. P = Portable. E = Laser. Q = Special or Combination.

The PEQ-15 was brought into service in 2003 during the Global War on Terrorism. The PEQ-15 is the most widely used LAM on the market, having been the standard issue for American regular forces, and still the standard issue for US Army and the SOPMOD kit, however some military units are moving to the new L3Harris AN/PEQ-16; with the United States Marine Corps adopting the PEQ-16 with the adoption of the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle, and even more advanced LAMs being fielded by others, including the Australian Army that began moving to PEQ-16's in 2016 and supplementing infantry squads with the L3Harris Squad Rangefinder (SRF).

Development

The ATPIAL AN/PEQ-15 is a multifunctional laser aiming module that emits both visible and IR laser light for precise weapon aiming and produces IR light with an Illuminator for target/area illumination. The module can be used as a handheld illuminator/pointer or can be mounted to weapons equipped with a MIL-STD-1913 (Picatinny Rail) rail mounting system, using the integrated M1913 rail grabber moulded into the body of the unit, eliminating the need for separate mounting hardware.

History

Developed and brought into service in 2003 by Insight Technology, the AN/PEQ-15 was being adopted and issued to replace the PEQ-2. The AN/PEQ-2 was first developed in the early 1990s, also by Insight Technology, and became the first widely issued LAM (laser aiming module), of the US military, and other countries' ground forces. The expansion of the GWOT through the early 2000s quickly ballooned the defense budget of many nations, leading to an explosion in contracts for new technology being granted by the US government, including, an updated LAM and replacement for the AN/PEQ-2 being one such contract.

Since its development the PEQ-15 is still the standard issue LAM for military units worldwide, nearly 20 years later. With hundreds of thousands of PEQ-15s in DoD (Department of Defense) inventory, they have since been adopted by Police and other Law Enforcement units across the United States, with the PEQ-15 becoming the most widely issued and battle tested laser aiming modules on the market. The successor to the PEQ-15, the AN/PEQ-16 is fast becoming popular among special forces and regular units around the world. The United States Marine Corps has shifted to the PEQ-16 with the change in rifle to H&K M27 IAR, as a standard attachment for all riflemen. The Australian Army has begun replacing their PEQ-15s with the updated PEQ-16, as the standard LAM to be fitted to the EF-88's extensive picatinny rails.

A 'high power' and 'ultra high power' variant of the PEQ-15 was developed with the latter, the UHP LA-5C/PEQ becoming part of the SOPMOD Block II kit for SOF (Special Operations Forces) Weapon systems. SOF have also now begun to move to the L3 Harris NGAL (Next Generation Aiming Laser) in conjunction with the Enhanced Night Vision Goggle-Binocular (ENVG-B).

Restrictions on sale

IR Lasers are restricted to Law Enforcement and Government customers only and cannot be sold to civilians. Sale and Purchase of IR Laser equipment can only occur at the department, agency, or unit level, and cannot be sold to individual Law Enforcement, Military, Government, or Contractor personnel. The AN/PEQ-15 is ITAR restricted and its export outside of the United States is strictly prohibited without a valid export license, prescribed in the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR).

Design details

The Advanced Target Pointer/ Illuminator/ Aiming Light (ATPIAL) AN/PEQ-15 was designed and built as the next generation weapon-mountable IR laser/Illuminator after the AN/PEQ-2 and PEQ-4, and in 2003 it became the battlefield replacement for the AN/PEQ-2A which served US Military Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies for many years. The PEQ-15 is almost half the weight and size of its predecessor with the added functionality of a visible laser. The addition of the co-aligned and slaved visible laser is one of the key improvements of the ATPIAL over the PEQ-2, allowing for use without night vision devices. Because the lasers are co-aligned, the PEQ-15 has a single set of adjustment screws for windage and elevation, when zeroing one laser, it zeros both visible and IR. The addition of the visible laser allows a user to zero the PEQ-15 during the day without personnel needing any night vision/IR vision devices.

For the US Marine Corps the PEQ-15 replaced the PEQ-2 on the M16 series service rifles, until the adoption of the H&K M27 IAR saw Corps change to the updated MIPIM AN/PEQ-16. The US Army regular forces are still issued the AN/PEQ-15 and the Ultra High Power LA-5C/PEQ variant remains listed on the SOPMOD phase II kit for SOF (Special Operations Forces). The Australian Army has since moved to the AN/PEQ-16 and is currently fielding the L3Harris Squad Rangefinder (SRF) to supplement squad (section) sized elements.

The PEQ-15 has a low profile body, and midline offset laser diodes that allow it to be top mounted to a rifle (on to the top of the hand guard or receiver), without obstructing the view of modern optics, or the lasers being obstructed by the front sight posts of the M4, M16 or other AR-15 pattern rifles, whereby the lasers and illuminator pass either side of front sight post. The PEQ-15 has a rear-facing control dial, and battery compartment allowing users to control the functions of the PEQ from behind the rifle, and to replace the batteries of the unit without requiring the unit to be removed, potentially disturbing the zero of the lasers. Windage and Elevation are adjusted with low profile screws on the top and sides of the unit. Each adjustment produces a positive click. The adjustment requires tooling to adjust windage/elevation and the low-profile design keeps the adjustment points from catching in the field. The PEQ-15A DBAL-A2 variant has forward facing battery compartment, with the rear of the unit being taken up with two function dials that face the user, with dials for power, and laser selection on each. The main functions of the functions of the PEQ-15 are:

Visible Laser: The visible laser is a red laser that can be emitted from the unit with the press of the button. The visible red-dot can provide precise aiming of a weapon during daylight or night operations. There are higher power variants (HP LA-5A & UHP LA-5C) that provide a higher output Visible Laser for better view in the day. The Visible laser can only be used on its own, setting don't allow for it to be used with the IR laser or illuminator. The visible laser can be used to boresight the device to a weapon without the need of night vision goggles, as the lasers and illuminator are co-aligned, this zeroes all diode functions.
IR Laser: emits a tightly focused beam of IR light for precise aiming of the weapon while wearing night vision goggles, or viewing the environment with an Infrared camera or weapon sights.
IR Illuminator: provides additional IR illumination of a target or target arear, it is operated through an adjustable lens with a turning bezel to vary the size of the illumination beam depending on target size and distance to the target, allowing adjustment from a flood light (105 mrad / °) mode to a single point spot-divergence (0.5 mrad / 0.029°) mode.

All variants of the PEQ-15 including the DBAL-A2 come included with a selection of Pattern Generator Filters (PGFs; also called Optical Instrument Reticles (OIR) by the DBAL-A2) that can be fitted to the units IR Illuminator and laser; in the case of the DBAL-A2 the illuminator and laser are separate from each other, and so different filters can be attached to either emitter; the PGF's can filter the laser or emitter into different shapes, including square, triangle, circle, cross, or T-shaped laser pointer; this may be useful for command and control purposes or to differentiate operators aiming point in the field, or during training.

Operation

The AN/PEQ-15 is operated using a main mode selector dial located on the top of the unit, with 8 options to select (9 on the UHP and HP variants), each mode corresponds to a single, or a dual combination of functions, these modes are detailed in the table below. Once the mode has been selected, the activation of the pressure pad activates the function selected. The unit has an inbuilt switch, but it also has a remote cable switch socket to allow for a remote pressure pad to be located elsewhere on the rifle, in a natural position that can be activated while shooting; this may be on a forward grip, or the handguard in a position accessible while aiming the rifle.

The AN/PEQ-15A DBAL-A2 by Steiner is of a different design, instead with two main function dials on the rear of the unit that face the operator when holding the weapon, the left dial selects the power and operation mode, and the right dial selects the specific laser/emitters to use. Similar to the L3 units, the Steiner DBAL-A2 also has a safety screw to lockout the high-power modes. On the DBAL-A2 it is fitted to the left mode dial, locking out the MOM HI PWR and ON HI PWR selector options.

The high-power settings of the lasers and illuminator are classified as Class IIIB lasers and have the potential to damage eyesight; as the PEQ-15s are used in training environments when doing blank-fire, force on force training, only the low power settings are to be used, with the safety screw protecting inadvertent activation of the laser at high. The use of high-power settings is only permitted during operations, or in live fire exercises at distances exceeding 220 m (720 ft). All variants of the PEQ-15 are fitted with a blue-anodized safety screw within the mode selector dial, that physically locks out the high-power settings from being selected. The screw can be removed using a 3/32" hex key; however as these items are controlled, the removal of the screw in military units must be done by the unit armorer or equivalent only at the direct of the unit commander. The screw can be seen fitted in the images of the top of the PEQ-15.

Variants

L3Harris / Insight Tech.

ATPIAL AN/PEQ-15

The standard power PEQ-15 variant, with single power visible laser, and high and low, IR Laser and IR Illuminator module.

The low power modes can be used during force-on-force training, however the high-power modes should only be used on live fire ranges at ranges exceeding 220 meters. The single visible laser power output of the standard power PEQ-15 of only 5 mW means the visible laser is only visible during the day of with a range of > 25 m (82 ft) when NOT in direct sunlight.

AN/PEQ-15 (tan), NSN: 5855-01-577-7174 | AN/PEQ-15 (black), NSN: 5855-01-534-5931

LA-5B/PEQ | HP ATPIAL

The LA-5B/PEQ (formally, High Power ATPIAL (LA-5B/PEQ)) is the high-power variant of the PEQ-15, with a higher output visible laser, and IR Illuminator. The major benefit to the increase in the visible laser power is improved performance in direct sunlight, with six times more output power. The higher power IR illuminator allows users to use the illuminator as pointer being able to reach out to much farther distances.

LA-5C/PEQ | UHP ATPIAL

The LA-5C/PEQ; formally, Ultra High Power ATPIAL (LA-5C/PEQ), is the ultra-high-power variant of the PEQ-15, which carries forward the same high output IR Illuminator and Visible Laser from the HP LA-5B/PEQ, but with the addition of a significantly higher output IR laser. The Ultra High Power variant is in use by the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) as part of the SOPMOD Block II accessory kit for SOCOM rifles, replacing the Block I AN/PEQ-2.

Steiner-Defense

AN/PEQ-15A – DBAL-A2

The AN/PEQ-15A – DBAL-A2 (Dual Beam Aiming Laser – Advanced-2) is an alternative of the L3Harris variants that is manufactured by Steiner Optics, and has the designation AN-PEQ-15A.

Like the L3Harris variants, the visible and IR aiming lasers on the DBAL-A2 are co-aligned with a single setting adjustment to windage and elevation to move and zero both beams, a soldier can use either the IR or Visible laser to boresight/zero the device to the rifle. The Steiner DBAL-A2 variant was offered with two different visible laser wavelengths, with the standard being 635 nm (±3%) Red, and the alternative being the 532 nm Green visible laser.

Comparative Specifications

Operators

Current Operators

Australia: AN/PEQ-15 used by Australian infantry and Special Forces on both the EF-88 and SOCOMD M4A5 Carbine, the PEQ-15 is being phased out for the AN/PEQ-16B which will be supplemented at the squad level with the L3Harris Squad Rangefinder (SRF).
New Zealand: Used on the New Zealand service rifle – LMT Modular Assault Rifle System – Light (MARS-L).
United States: In use by the US Military. The UHP LA-5C/PEQ is in use by USSOCOM forces within the SOPMOD Block II kit.
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Taliban): After the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan in 2021, a large amount of American military equipment was captured by the Taliban, this included multiple night-vision/fighting devices, including night vision goggles and IR Laser Aiming Modules including the AN/PEQ-15.
Los Angeles LAPD SWAT: Use the DBAL-A2 variant of the PEQ-15.
Russia: Russian security forces have been photographed with variants of the PEQ-15.

Gallery

References

Text submitted to CC-BY-SA license. Source: AN/PEQ-15 by Wikipedia (Historical)

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