Sweden - Forgotten Weapons

Aimpoint’s 3.5x Scope for French Trials

September 4, 2026 Ian McCollum 0

Aimpoint is known for its red dot optics, but in the early 2000s the company decided to develop a 3.5x fixed magnification traditional scope. It was intended for a French military trial, and Aimpoint used […]

Sweden’s Green Trials Galil: the FFV-890C

August 3, 2026 Ian McCollum 34

When Sweden decided to replace the AK-4 (a license-built H&K G3) with a 5.56mm rifle in the 1970s, they tested nearly every potential rifle on the market. Only two survived the stringent Swedish arctic trials; […]

Aimpoint Square: An Ambitious Failed Prototype

July 24, 2026 Ian McCollum 6

Between 1990 and 1993, Aimpoint experimented with a red dot optics that was pretty ambitious on several fronts. It used a rectangular window to maximize field of view for hunting rifles and shotguns (this was […]

Aimpoint CS: Revolutionary Battery Life for the Swedish Home Guard

June 19, 2026 Ian McCollum 4

The Aimpoint CS is an optic designed specifically for the Swedish Home Guard, which wanted a red dot that was extremely durable and also capable of being left on for 10 years on a single […]

Aimpoint ICE: A More Aesthetic 1990s Prototype Red Dot

April 18, 2026 Ian McCollum 5

https://youtu.be/GfIAE4PFJyQ During the 1990s, Aimpoint had a product developed who thought it would be good to develop a new red dot sight that had a more curved, organic look to it. The design he came […]

US Army M68 Close Combat Optic aka Aimpoint CompM Series

March 16, 2026 Ian McCollum 4

When Aimpoint entered the competition for a US Army standard-issue combat optic in the 1990s, they really didn’t expect to win. The other finalists were Trijicon and Meprolite, and it seems like a safe bet […]

Aimpoint’s First Tube Optics: 2000, 3000, & 5000

February 23, 2026 Ian McCollum 2

https://youtu.be/I786pgkby_I Aimpoint introduced its first tubular red dot sight in 1985, the Aimpoint 2000. They were still making direct rail-mounted optics like the Aimpoint Electronic, but recognized the customer demand for a sight that could […]

The First Red Dot Sights: Aimpoint Electronic, MkIII, and Aimpoint 1000

January 17, 2026 Ian McCollum 6

Today we are looking at the first commercial red dot optic, and its successors. In 1975, Aimpoint released the Aimpoint Electronic, a collimating optic using an LED as a light source. It was intended for […]

Between SMG and PDW: Sweden’s CBJ-MS

December 20, 2025 Ian McCollum 10

The CBJ-MS is a submachine gun designed by Swedish arms developed Carl Bertil Johansson, perhaps better known for his remarkable armor-piercing 6.5x25mm CBJ cartridge. He developed the gun at about the same time as the […]

Hovea M44: Husqvarna Makes a Submachine Gun

September 22, 2025 Ian McCollum 7

The Hovea M44 was tested by the Danish and Swedish militaries in 1945, competing agains the Carl Gustaf M45. It was designed and produced by Husqvarna (yes, the chainsaw company) and just 10 of them […]