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Coordinates: 33°41′51″N 117°56′13″W / 33.6975743°N 117.9368605°W / 33.6975743; -117.9368605
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SureFire, LLC
Company typeLimited Liability Company
IndustryIllumination Tools
Tactical Equipment
PredecessorLaser Products Corporation
Founded1979[1]
FounderDr. John Matthews
Dr. Peter Hauk
Ed Reynolds
Headquarters
Fountain Valley, California
,
U.S.
Key people
John Matthews (Co-founder, CEO and President)
Paul Kim (VP of Engineering)
Sean Vo (CFO)[2]
ProductsFlashlights
Weapon-mounted lights
Laser sights
Sound suppressors
High capacity magazines
RevenueUS$75 million (2007)[3]
Number of employees
500+ (2007)[3]
SubsidiariesEarPro
WebsiteSurefire.com
SureFire U2 digital variable-output LED flashlight

SureFire, LLC. is a Fountain Valley, California company whose primary products are flashlights, weapon mounted lights and laser sights. In addition, Surefire also manufactures knives, sound suppressors, Picatinny Rails and batteries.[4] The company is a major supplier of flashlights to the U.S. Armed Forces. Surefire products are also extensively used by federal, state and local law-enforcement agencies.[citation needed]

History

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John Matthews founded the Newport Corporation in 1969, which specializes in industrial lasers.[5] After Matthews developed a laser sight; he, Peter Hauk, and Ed Reynolds founded the spin-off company, Laser Products Corporation on October 17, 1979.[1] In 1984, the company supplied the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department with shotgun laser sights for use during the 1984 Summer Olympics. Laser Products developed its first "SureFire" branded product — a handgun mounted light in 1985. Laser Products Corporation became SureFire, LLC in 2000.[1] More recently, SureFire attained ISO9001:2000 certification in 2008.[6]

Products

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Flashlights

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Surefire produces flashlights of widely varying sizes and power outputs from single-cell lights to a large 20-cell HID models.[7] Most of its flashlights are powered by lithium CR123A batteries that allow for compact size and low weight while offering high power output. These batteries offer a long shelf-life, but are more costly than other cell sizes. Some of the flashlights are available with rechargeable battery packs. In 2010, Surefire released the E2L AA, designed to operate on AA batteries, as does the Saint headlamp. Surefire also produces military weapon lights for mounting on handguns, rifles, sub-machine guns and shotguns. Surefire's Z2 CombatLight is standard issue to the FBI and the Federal Air Marshal Service,[8] and their various handheld lights are a frequent choice of police, military, fire, and EMS personnel.

Surefire flashlights are made primarily of anodized aerospace aluminum alloy in various colors, other models are made of Nitrolon, a proprietary glass-filled polyamide nylon plastic.[9] The flashlights are weatherproof and have various accessories, including red (night), blue (blood trail) and infrared (night vision compatible) filters, beam diffusers, beam covers, lanyards, pouches/holsters and spare battery/bulb carriers. Some models use incandescent bulbs, while others use LEDs with electronically-controlled power regulation and adjustable brightness. The company uses Seoul Semiconductor and Cree XR-E LEDs in flashlights introduced in 2007.[10][11] More recently, flashlights with a strobe function, used for signalling or to disorientate were introduced.[12]

A more notable product is the SureFire M6 Guardian, a flashlight with a 250 or 500 lumen beam from a xenon incandescent light bulb. Surefire claims that this is bright enough to temporarily blind and disorient a person by impairing their night-adapted vision.[13] Fifteen M6 flashlights were used to illuminate the Stonehenge for the June 2008 cover photo of National Geographic Magazine.[14] The New York Times referred to the M6 as being of the "design school that might be called Modern Militant, the most familiar example of which is the Hummer."[15] This was later used in SureFire's 2007 product catalogue.[16]

Other products

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The FN Five-seven USG with a SureFire tactical light.

In addition to flashlights, the company produces headlamps, helmet mounted lights with an infra-red IFF strobe and weapon-mounted lights for various long guns and handguns. These weapon-mounted lights use a shock-absorbing assembly to protect the tungsten filament bulb from recoil, alternatively shock-resistant LEDs are used. Some models of handgun-mounted lights have an integrated laser sight.[12]

A large weapon-light is also manufactured by Surefire; the HellFighter Weaponlight uses a 35 watt high intensity discharge (HID) bulb powered by a 12 volt car battery or by two 5595 military batteries. The bulb is shock-isolated, outputs about 3000 lumens and is mounted in a textured parabolic reflector that provides a beam that is optimized for throw, but also with additional spill light for peripheral illumination. It is bright enough to illuminate targets hundreds of yards away and is intended to be attached to a machine gun.[17]

Surefire also produces Picatinny rail forends, sound suppressors, muzzle brakes, flash suppressors, EarPro branded hearing protection and tactical communication earpieces, and what it calls "Combat/Utility" knives. These knives combine some features of a multi-tool with the blade of a combat knife.[12] In late 2010, Surefire introduced STANAG compatible high capacity magazines with a capacity of 60 or 100 rounds.[18]

See Also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "SureFire, Laser Sight and Tactical Flashlight Pioneer, Turns 30" (PDF) (Press release). SureFire, LLC. October 17, 2009. Retrieved 2010-10-26.
  2. ^ "SureFire, LLC.: CEO & Executives". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2010-10-26.
  3. ^ a b Aronovich, Hanna (December 2007). "Light Up: SureFire LLC Profile". U.S. Business Review: 102–103.
  4. ^ "SureFire Fact Sheet" (PDF). SureFire, LLC. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
  5. ^ "The SureFire Story". SureFire, LLC. Retrieved 2010-10-26.
  6. ^ "SureFire Attains ISO 9001:2000 Certification" (PDF) (Press release). SureFire, LLC. Retrieved 2010-10-26.
  7. ^ "SureFire Flashlights". SureFire, LLC. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
  8. ^ Gromer, Cliff (November 2003). Oldham, Joe (ed.). "High Beams". Popular Mechanics. 180 (11). Hearst Magazines: 83. ISSN 0032-4558.
  9. ^ "SureFire Superior Technology". SureFire, LLC. Retrieved 2010-10-26.
  10. ^ "Cree XLamp LEDs to Power SureFire Flashlights" (Press release). Cree, Inc. January 4, 2007. Retrieved 2010-10-26.
  11. ^ "SureFire Selects Seoul Semiconductor's LED technology to Power High-Performance Flashlights" (Press release). Seoul Semiconductor. September 26, 2007. Retrieved 2010-10-30.
  12. ^ a b c "2011 SureFire Products Catalog" (PDF). SureFire, LLC. January 18, 2011. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
  13. ^ "SureFire M6 Guardian". SureFire, LLC. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
  14. ^ Geiger, Ken (May 14, 2008). "Shooting Stonehenge". NGM Blog Central. National Geographic Society. Retrieved 2010-10-26.
  15. ^ David Colman (August 13, 2006). "Industrial Art Illuminates Life". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-12-10.
  16. ^ "Surefire Illumination Catalog" (PDF). SureFire, LLC.
  17. ^ "Surefire HellFighter". SureFire, LLC. Retrieved 2011-01-25.
  18. ^ "New SureFire Hi-Cap Magazines to Provide Firepower Advantages in Combat" (PDF) (Press release). SureFire, LLC. Retrieved 2011-01-25.
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33°41′51″N 117°56′13″W / 33.6975743°N 117.9368605°W / 33.6975743; -117.9368605

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