SHIELD Public Safety & Defence Shield CQS and CQB Reflex Sights.

While at SOFIC 2014, I had an opportunity to spend time with James White, Director of Manufacturing for Shield Public Safety & Defence. To quote a hackneyed cliché, you learn something new every day and so it would appear that Shield was first to develop the now ubiquitous mini red dot sight back in 1997. Shield’s mini reflex sight, branded Fine Point, has subsequently been branded by quite a few companies TASCO, Trijicon, JPoint to name a few. Shield manufacturers in the United Kingdom (4 MOA red dot   NSN 1240-99-615-6218 (Original)   NSN 1240-99-157-9746 (May 2012 onwards) 8 MOA red dot   NSN 1240-99-870-4471 (Original)   NSN 1240-99-958-7164 (April 2012 onwards).

From its Fine Point development effort and product success, the company moved on to designing and manufacturing the Shield CQB and CQS reflex sights. Both the CQB and CQS have identical functional and electrical  DNA. The difference between the two is in the CQB’s interface, which was designed by Shield to allow the UK MOD to mount the CQB on a the family of equipment supplied within the Future Integrated Soldier Technology (FIST) program, including the Qioptiq FIST Thermal Sight. The CQS comes with a mounting system that is Picatinny compliant. So there is a wide range of mounting possibilities.

Technical Specification 

Optical characteristics
Light source	Red light emitting diode (LED) No laser; completely eye safe No radioactive materials
Red dot size options	1 MOA + 65 MOA ring 4 MOA dot 8 MOA dot
Lens	Reflex x1 (no magnification) Parallax-free
Lens coating	Anti-reflection No coloured coating, minimises visible signature
Electronics
Battery	One 3V lithium battery, CR2032
Battery life	1 year – average use 3 years – night vision use
Brightness adjustment	Automatic
Brightness range	Lowest – compatible with Night Vision Highest – visible against the sky in bright daylight
Exterior
Housing material	Anodised aluminium
Colour	Matte black Coloured anodising available on request
Dimensions sight only (Length x width x height)	52 x 31 x 30 mm 2.0 x 1.2 x 1.2 inches
Weight	66 grams / 2.3 ounces
Mount	Picatinny Please contact us for other mount designs.
Environmental tests passed
Operating temperature	-46 °C to + 49 °C / -51 °F to + 120 °F
Storage temperature	-46 °C to + 71 °C / -51 °F to + 160 °F
Climatic	Heavy rainfall, mist, fog, salt spray
Water immersion	1 metre for 30 minutes
Thermal shock	+21 °C  to -46 °C / +70 °F to -51 °F in 3 minutes +58 °C to +21 °C / +136 °F to +70 °F in 3 minutes

I was very much impressed by the Shield family of reflex sights; they appeared to be rugged and well built. I particularly enjoyed the smaller aperture, which seemed effective at focusing your eye on the target. I’ve used reflex sights that leave you feeling like your sitting behind the windshield of a Buick. Not the case with the CQB and CQS sights.

For additional details visit SHIELD Public Safety & Defence