NATO Accessory Rail

NATO Accessory Rail (STANAG 4694)

The NATO Accessory Rail (NAR), defined by NATO Standardization Agreement (STANAG) 4694, is a rail interface system standard for mounting accessory equipment such as telescopic sights, tactical lights, laser aiming modules, night vision devices, reflex sights, foregrips, bipods and bayonets to small arms such as rifles and pistols.[1]

STANAG 4694 was approved by the NATO Army Armaments Group (NAAG), Land Capability Group 1 Dismounted Soldier (LCG1-DS) in 2009.[2] It was published in March 2011.[3]

The NATO Accessory Rail is backwards-compatible with the Draft STANAG 2324/MIL-STD 1913 Picatinny rail, which dates back to 3 February 1995,[4] and was designed in conjunction with weapon specialists like Aimpoint, Beretta, Colt Firearms, FN Herstal and Heckler & Koch.

  1. ^ Weapons & Sensors, NATO Army Armaments Group
  2. ^ NATO countries finalise plans for a standard rail adaptor system
  3. ^ "NATO - STANAG 4694 - NATO ACCESSORY RAIL". standards.globalspec.com. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
  4. ^ Military Standard 1913 - Dimensioning of accessory mounting rail for small arms weapons Archived 2010-11-26 at the Wayback Machine