Trijicon VCOG: the 1-8x28 LPVO now Marine Squad Common Optic

The Trijicon VCOG 1-8×28 has been selected by the Marine Corps as their Squad Common Optic, or SCO. It’s a $64 million contract that will be seeing initial fulfillment as early as this year. This selection comes after last year’s USMC announcement they were seeking an 8x magnified LPVO to be used on the M4, M4A1, and M27 series of weapons.

Trijicon VCOG

According to Trijicon’s recent release, the VCOG (Variable Combat Optical Gunsight) 1-8x Squad Combat Optic was designed specifically “…for Close Quarter Battle and long distance marksmanship. [It] is forged from…7075-T6 aluminum housing and is waterproof to 66 feet. The first focal plane reticle allows subtensions and drops to remain true at any magnification. Featuring ruggedized electronics, the VCOG includes eleven user-selectable brightness settings, including two night vision settings. An integrated dial fin allows easy rotation through the magnification range, and a near-constant eye relief means no head or stock position adjustments are needed. An integrated mounting adapter eliminates the need for conventional ring mounts, allowing users to quickly and easily mount the VCOG to any rail system.”

Trijicon’s LPVO is currently available in two variations, the MRAD (with red MRAD crosshair dot reticle) and MOA (with red MOA crosshair dot reticle): the SCO will be manufactured at Trijicon’s factory in Wixom, Michigan.

USMC Variable Combat Optical Gunsight

Tom Dever, interim team leader for Combat Optics at Marine Corps Systems Command, explains the new optics expected role.

“The SCO supplements the attrition and replacement of the RCO Family of Optics and the Squad Day Optic for the M27, M4 and M4A1 weapon platforms for close-combat Marines,” he said on the MCSC website.

Stephen Bindon, Trijicon President and CEO, says,

“Our warfighters deserve the very best equipment in defense of our nation. The Marine Corps’ SCO evaluation process was extremely rigorous, and we are honored that the VCOG was selected to continue the tradition of battle-proven riflescopes that the Trijicon ACOG began in 2004 as the Marine Corps’ first Rifle Combat Optic.”

The initial Marine SCO announcement mentioned several required features, including (among others):

• compatibility with “visual augmentation systems”, weapon accessories, lasers, AN/PEQs and the like

• size/weight of fewer than 2 pounds at 10.5 in. OAL or less

• ability to PID (Positively IDentify) targets out to 900m (600 for point targets)

• minimum magnification field of view of 18 degrees (T), 20 degrees (O). At maximum magnification, possess a minimum field of view of 2.5 degrees (T), 3 degrees (O).

• eye relief of at least 3.1 inches (T), 3.7 inches (O).

Set up a double feed for training — Setting up a double feed for training: at the link.

Trijicon VCOG Reviews

RECOIL Magazine’s Iain Harrison recently reviewed a VCOG 1-8x, saying the optic was built to be “…as soldier proof as possible” with very simple adjustments for dialing in and extremely smooth zoom. He explains further.

RECOIL Magazine's Iain Harrison reviews the Trijicon VCOG 1-8x28 — RECOIL Magazine’s Iain Harrison reviews the Trijicon VCOG 1-8×28.

“Designed to be as soldier-proof as possible, the turret caps on the VCOG are dummy corded to the scope itself, making it difficult to lose them in the field. As well, you will not find any hash marks on the turrets since you won’t be dialing with this scope, but instead, ranging and elevating the scope using the reticle itself. Powered by a single AA lithium battery, operators are able to source power from virtually anywhere, and can utilize this single-piece scope in nearly any environment. This is a definite plus, though it does produce a sort of odd lump on the side of the scope itself. When it comes to the illumination, the VCOG has 11 different settings, including two night vision and nine day settings.”

Harrison lists pros and cons as follows:

PROS