SureFire is a story of what can be accomplished with light. The tale begins in 1969 when an engineer with a Ph.D. from Cal Tech decided the future lay in lasers. Dr. John Matthews founded the Newport Corporation to harness the power of the laser for industrial applications. The SureFire WeaponLight was born, and low-light law enforcement and military operations would never be the same. In the years that followed, the technically superb, but expensive, laser-sighted firearms paved the way for future developments. Laser Products went on to establish itself as the leading manufacturer of rugged, powerful and compact illumination tools for tactical applications - from weapon-mounted lights and laser sights, shield lights and baton lights to hand-held lights powerful and bright enough to qualify as "force-option" tools that could temporarily blind, unbalance, and disorient a threat. Eventually the SureFire name became so synonymous with excellence in hand-held illumination tools that the company name, Laser Products, was changed to SureFire LLC.