Daniel Defense RIS II - A Brief History

[Stickman]

The SOCOM RIS II rail contract provided all current and upcoming weapon and accessory manufacturers with an opportunity to demonstrate outside the box development, and enter into trials for the (at that time) upcoming rail selection.

ARMS, KAC, and DD all advanced past initial testing with high quality rail systems which humbled their competitors. Regardless of the outcome, all three had shown that they were solid performers. Of course in the end, the selection was narrowed to one, with Daniel Defense being awarded the contract and becoming the sole source supplier for SOCOM.



Below reads the Daniel Defense description for the DD RIS II rail, but the end product isn't how it started out, nor it is likely to be the final product either.

The Daniel Defense RIS II allows the individual operator to free float the M203 grenade launcher without additional parts. As importantly, special tools are not required to mount the M203 grenade launcher. This was accomplished by integrating all of the needed parts to free float the M203 into the rail itself.

The Daniel Defense RIS II free-floating Picatinny rail systems are designed to allow individual operator to quickly, and without special tools, mount M203 Grenade Launcher and precisely mount SOPMOD accessories to host weapon without effecting point of impact.

The original DD RIS II extended past the standard FSB through the use of a cutout in the upper rail. It also used 2 machined screws to lock the lower portion in place. Once the screws were removed, the rail pulls down from the front, then out. In the below picture you can see the 203 mounts that swing down.