SpecterOS 4X Combat Sights

ELCAN produces high-resolution optical lenses for visual reconnaissance, night-vision equipment, and other sighting systems for many NATO militaries. They got their start in 1954, when ELCAN began supplying aircraft gun sights to the Canadian military. During the Vietnam War, the U.S. Navy used an ELCAN camera system based on Leica’s technology, with a specially made low-light Noctilux lens.

By the 1970s, ELCAN had ventured into small arms optical-sight development with a compact roof-prism design. That eventually became the ELCAN C79 3.4x28mm that the Canadian forces now issue as the combat optic for their C7 and C8 rifles, and their C6 and C9 machine guns. In 1999, the U.S. Army adopted a modified battery-illumination version of the C79—the M145—for their M240 and M249 machine guns.

In 2003, ELCAN introduced their new Specter series optics with the dual-role 1x/4x SpecterDR. It was quickly adopted by the U.S. SOCOM as the SU-230/PVS. The featured ELCAN SpecterOS 4x—a fixed 4x-magnification model—was released in 2009 and was selected by the British military as the replacement for the SUSAT sight on their L85A2 bullpup rifle.

The ELCAN SpecterOS 4x

The OS 4x simply stands for optical sight and fixed 4x magnification. The sight itself is based on the SpecterDR 1x/4x model’s housing design, external adjustment mount, lens size, optical formula, and illumination unit. The SpecterOS 4x is essentially a SpecterDR without the complex cam-driven corrective 1x magnification lens system and rudimentary integral backup iron sight.

These changes resulted in a weight reduction of five ounces, a more streamlined exterior, and a substantial $600 lower price tag. The eye relief is a generous 2.75 inches or 70mm, with an ample 7.8mm exit pupil. The ELCAN’s robust external-adjustment mount features a 120 MOA windage and elevation adjustment with 0.5 MOA click. There’s sufficient height at the back to clear any flip-up rear sights on the market. Optically, the ELCAN SpecterOS 4x is phenomenal, and can rival some of the best Euro optics on the market.

The sight has crystal-clear optics and a massive field-of-view. This is where the Specter series optics really outpace the competition—the ACOG and Leupold HAMR, for example.