Advanced Armament Corporation or AAC is an American company that develops and manufactures firearms, firearm suppressors, muzzle devices and related accessories.
History
Kevin Brittingham founded Advanced Armament Corporation in 1994 to manufacture sound suppressors, having previously been a distributor for GEMTECH, another suppressor manufacturer. Under Brittingham's direction, AAC grew to be one of the largest suppressor manufacturers in the U.S., including a number of small military contracts. Of note, one of AAC's chief suppressor designers is Robert Silvers, creator of the PhotoMosaic. In 2009, Brittingham sold the company to Remington Arms. Robert Silvers remained at the company as a leader of research and development. In early 2015 AAC moved locations from Lawrenceville, GA to a new, larger, state of the art facility located in Huntsville, AL.
Products
AAC has been responsible for numerous innovations with regard to sound suppressor development, among them interchangeable pistons to allow suppressors to be exchanged among firearms with different barrel thread patterns, fast-attach rifle suppressors, and the use of lightweight alloys such as titanium. The company produces numerous "lifestyle" products related to AAC and/or the NFA firearms community, including T-shirts, stickers, etc. AAC's suppressor lineup includes models suitable for virtually every firearm caliber between.22 Long Rifle and.50 BMG. Rimfire models include the Aviator2, and Element2. Centerfire pistol caliber suppressors include the Ti-Rant series and Illusion9 the only true eccentric designed suppressor to utilize factory sights as well as allowing the use of rail mounted accessories on the host firearm, both of which use an interchangeable piston system in their Nielsen device. Centerfire rifle suppressors include the M4-2000, 762-SDN-6, SR series as well as the Cyclone, and others. The company's Titan-QD Fast-Attach suppressor is used on the US Army's M2010 Enhanced Sniper Rifle and the Remington MSR. The suppressor eliminates 98 percent of muzzle flash, 60 percent of recoil, and reduces sound by 32 decibels.
Rimfire suppressors
Element 2: The Element is a premium "thread-on" suppressor for handguns and rifles chambered in.17 HMR,.22 LR, and.22 WMR.
Aviator 2: All aluminum "thread-on" suppressor for handguns and rifles chambered in.22 LR that is user serviceable.
Illusion9 is an eccentric designed suppressor to utilize factory sights as well as allowing the use of rail mounted accessories on the host firearm
Ti-Rant Series suppressors designed for use with either 9mm or.45 ACP caliber pistols that is made from Titanium. Short versions were manufactured using an "S" suffix in the model names and a modular 45 caliber suppressor known as the Ti-Rant 45M has replaced the standard and short versions of the 45 silencer.
Rifle suppressors
M4-2000 designed for use with firearms chambered for 5.56×45mm NATO/.223 Remington.
762-SDN-6 Fast attach 7.62 silencer optimized for the 300 AAC Blackout cartridge.
Muzzle devices
In 2011, AAC was awarded a $14,201,731 contract for the muzzle brakes that they produce known as the "Brakeout". This contract was procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce and Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division. In 2016 the BlastOut gives users the ability to redirect muzzle blast forward when shooting unsuppressed.
.300 AAC Blackout
The.300 AAC Blackout cartridge was developed by Advanced Armament Corporation in cooperation with Remington Defense, under the direction of Kevin Brittingham. The round is very similar to the.300 Whisper cartridge created years earlier by SSK Industries, but AAC submitted the cartridge for SAAMI standardization and allows any manufacturer to use the specifications. This has led to far wider adoption than the.300 Whisper, which is proprietary to SSK. This round has the same overall length and width as the popular 5.56×45mm NATO round, except it fires a 30 caliber bullet allowing for better barrier penetration and external ballistics from short barrels. These dimensions allow the 300 AAC Blackout to be used in existing magazines designed for M16 or AR-15 rifles. Because the rim of the cartridge is identical, the same bolt and carrier can be used for both cartridges. The only part that needs to be changed to convert an existing AR-15 chambered in 5.56×45mm to one chambered in 300 BLK is the barrel. Advanced Armament Corporation builds a number of rifles and receivers for this caliber including the MPW and the AAC Honey Badger PDW.
MPW, a rifle chambered in.300 AAC Blackout, made with 16" and 12.5" barrels.
American Silencer Association
AAC has been instrumental in forming the American Silencer Association, a nonprofit trade association "to further the pursuit of education, public relations, legislation, hunting applications and military applications for the silencer industry". Additionally AAC partners with the National Rifle Association in grassroots lobbying efforts to educate voters about firearms legislation.