Weapons produced by Lewis Machine & Tool Company (LMT), a privately-owned small arms American Midwestern manufacturer, are being used by the Royal Air Force to protect the 2012 Olympics in London, England, against terrorist attacks. According to a recent Daily Express U.K. article, Royal Air Force soldiers assigned to protect the Olympics have been armed with the LMT L129A1 Sharpshooter rifle, which is highly accurate over long ranges.
“From the beginning, LMT has been proud to assist soldiers and law enforcement officials in protecting our country”, said Monica Sipp, Director of Sales and Marketing for LMT. “We are equally proud that our products are being used to protect the Olympics, an event which fosters global unity.”
Since 1980, LMT has provided the U.S. military, law enforcement and government agencies with high-quality weapons, components, and modular weapon systems. LMT, based in Milan, IL, located on the Rock River near the Iowa/Illinois Quad Cities, was founded by Karl Lewis, and has 130 employees.
“Our company philosophy can be summed up in five words: Failure is not an option”, said Lewis. “Police officers, soldiers and other brave defenders who use our products need to know that their weapons will not fail them. The soldiers guarding the Olympic Games can feel confident, knowing that they are holding precision instruments which will not let them down if a conflict should arise”.
According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), 205 countries are sending more than 10,000 athletes to compete in 300 events at this year’s Summer Olympics. London is the first city to host the modern Olympics three times, having done so before in 1908 and 1948.
In an interview at Phys.org, Stanford terrorism expert Martha Crenshaw has stated: “From the point of view of this year's Olympics, London could be as much of a target as the Olympics themselves”. The interview reveals that there are now more British troops guarding the streets of London than in Afghanistan.
“It seems unthinkable that anyone might want to disrupt the Olympic Games”, Sipp said, “but unfortunately, the threat of terrorism is ever-present in today’s world. That’s why we work so hard to make our weapons the very best. When it comes to fighting terrorism, failure is not option”.
