SureFire has been awarded a $23.3 million contract to supply an indefinite number of sound suppressors, suppressor adapters, blank firing adapters and training adapters by the for military special operations.

The contract was given by the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, which is the primary solicitation center for U.S. Special Operations Command.

The contract comes under the Family of Muzzle Brake Suppressors (FMBS) solicitation and is SureFire's largest suppressor contract to date, according to the company. SureFire suppressors were chosen based on test criteria such as reliability, sound reduction, accuracy, point-of-impact shift, endurance/durability, and operational suitability. These requirements reflect the suppression needs for firearms such as the MK13 sniper rifle. The U.S. Marine Corps is already employing SureFire's FA762SS suppressor system on every M40A5 sniper rifle.

"From day one, SureFire's commitment has been to increase the safety and success of the war fighter and peacekeeper by developing products that exceed the standards for performance and quality," said Barry Dueck, director of SureFire's suppressor division. "Our suppressors are no exception. We build these to enhance the operational capabilities of our customers, knowing that their lives often depend on their equipment, and we're very pleased that USSOCOM will now have multiple models available to improve their operational effectiveness."

In 2001, the U.S. Department of Defense used the term "Signature Reduction" as a working concept mandated by the Joint Chiefs of Staff to focus on reducing the environmental sound, flash, and dust signatures produced by a firearm.

When SureFire launched its suppressor division in 2002, they focused on the Total Signature Reduction (TSR) of a suppressed firearm. TSR addresses the environmental signatures and other performance attributes such as point-of-impact shift (POI) and repeatability that were once de-prioritized in favor of sound reduction.

Most suppressors cause a shift in a weapon's POI when attached or detached, requiring the operator to re-zero the weapon every time. With a SureFire suppressor, the Fast-Attach mechanism locks the suppressor onto the firearm in the same position every time, producing a negligible, repeatable POI shift.

The SureFire products selected for the FBMS contract include the FH556-215A adapter and FA556-212-DE suppressor for the SOCOM M4/CQBR firearm; the BFA-FA556-212 and TA-FA556-212 for the SOCOM M4/CQBR firearm training and blank firing; the FH762K05 adapter and FA762K-DE suppressor for the SOCOM MK13 firearm; and the BFA-FA762K and TA-FA762K for the SOCOM MK13 firearm training and blank firing.