Marine Corps Seeks To Streamline Rifle Qualification Process

One of the hallmarks of high power rifle shooting is spending time in the pits. Targets are lowered, quickly pasted and scored, and rapidly raised up again for the shooter to take their next shot.

Well as it turns out, for the U.S. Marine Corps, the days of pulling down targets in the pits at the rifle range may be coming to an end. A recent Marine Corps RFI (Request for Information) outlines the parameters for contractors about a new automatic scoring system for Marine ranges. The hope is to find a commercial off-the-shelf system that will support USMC marksmanship training with little-to-no development required.

The official name for the proposed system is KDAS—Known Distance Automated Scoring. As stated in the RFI, the purpose of the KDAS system is to "reduce the amount of labor necessary to conduct KD training/qualification" and "increase the speed of training/qualification."

After reading the RFI, it becomes clear that the USMC wants a robust e-target system with advanced capabilities that many civilian shooters have become accustomed to. For example, marksmanship coaches can view a display and track the progress of several shooters at once, while shooters themselves will have a display unit to track shot placement. The RFI also says the system should be wireless and handle up to 100 targets on a range simultaneously.

The deadline for contractors to respond to the RFI is January 11, 2019.