INTERVIEW: Small but powerful - SR Tactical

A man, a company. Stefan Roth is the man behind SR Tactical from Germany. These days he has just launched the new website, and for the first time, the new weapon light from SR Tactical is visible and available there (of course, only for eligible Germans). We wanted to know from Stefan how he got to where SR Tactical is now.

SPARTANAT: Weapon light "Made in Germany". And it looks good too. How did you get the idea to make a weapon light and what makes it different from others?

Stefan Roth: SR Tactical originally started with the development and manufacture of tactical carry equipment. Over time, contacts were established in the industry, but also with various specialized forces and special forces in the police and military. Since I was already a sports shooter at that time, I was naturally interested in the service weapons of my clients.

I soon noticed that there was a need for improvement, particularly in the weapon lights used by German authorities. Due to the legal situation in Germany, the supply of such products from domestic production is extremely limited. Moreover, the common devices used by German units are often technologically outdated.

Therefore, several members of various Special Deployment Command units of the police in North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria, and Rhineland-Palatinate encouraged me to produce my own, technically superior product.

I decided to create an initial constructive design for a modern weapon light. This first design was strongly based on the products of a well-known American manufacturer.

With these design documents, I then applied for an exemption to manufacture this first lamp at the Federal Criminal Police Office in mid-2015. When it became foreseeable at the end of 2015 that this application would be approved, I intensified my efforts regarding the redesign of a weapon light. I carried out a complete redesign of the previously developed housing to reduce manufacturing complexity. In order to become as independent as possible from the American market and other companies, I developed my own electronic circuit board to control the LED used. I completed the development of the weapon light in March 2016.

The resulting lamp has been implemented since January 2016 (Simultaneous Engineering, individual parts are already manufactured before the design work is completed), the first prototypes have already successfully passed the testing phase and have not failed even during continuous fire tests with different weapon systems.

At the end of the day, the MRL6 is a weapon light like many others, but it is completely ITAR- and EAR-free, making it an interesting option for European authorities. The high-quality workmanship, various customization options regarding switches and installed optics, water resistance up to over 200m, and robust mounting complete the overall package.

SPARTANAT: SR Tactical has been a hidden gem for a while. When did you start?

Stefan Roth: SR Tactical was founded in 2011. Originally just a "crazy idea" for personal use, the concept quickly became financially viable. Since 2015, I have been working on machine engineering products like the MRL6 weapon light alongside the textile sector.

SPARTANAT: If someone wants something from you: What do they get?

Stefan Roth: SR Tactical now sees itself as a system house for tactical equipment. The goal of the company is not only to provide system components such as magazine pouches or individual weapon slings but complete equipment systems, excluding the necessary weapons. We have several strong partners for arms and necessary optics with whom collaboration is also possible. In addition, SR Tactical has a reference weapon collection to test various weapon accessories even with live rounds.

Custom solutions, both in the textile and machine engineering sectors, can generally be realized at short notice.

Only the tactical clothing department is not covered by SR Tactical.

SPARTANAT: Your personal favorite product from your range?

Stefan Roth: Without a doubt, the MRL6. So far, this has been by far the most elaborate and complicated project. It went through a complete product development process according to VDI 2221 in various engineering disciplines. This personally gave me the greatest learning curve.

SPARTANAT: We are naturally extremely curious about the new weapon light. When and where will it be available?

Stefan Roth: During the product development phase of the MRL6, Christian Grunewald from Spartac/Kingshot was a reliable contact in the industry. Christian has already included the weapon light in his product range and is one of the first distribution partners of SR Tactical. Besides direct sales, we are currently building a distribution network with other appropriately licensed dealers.

STEFAN ROTH is the man behind SR TACTICAL. Born in 1993, studying mechanical engineering, currently working on his thesis. And he is a firearms expert in the sense of §18 WaffG.

SR TACTICAL on the Internet: www.sr-tactical.com

After several months of work, the new SR Tactical website is live. And the best part: To celebrate the website launch, there is a 15 percent discount on all products!

Check it out: www.sr-tactical.com