1967
- 2001 Began VLTOR in Idaho
- 2004 – bought by Abrams Airborne Manufacturing, Inc. (AAMI) in Tucson, AZ
- 2005 – Invented Modular firearm buttstock
- 2008 Invented the KeyMod
- 2011 (2013) Invented Charging handle with improved gas deflection
- 2013 Director of Research & Development for Bravo Company USA
About Eric Kincel
Eric Kincel is a firearms designer best known for KeyMod, the open accessory-mounting standard that changed how AR-15 handguards were built in the 2010s. Kincel founded VLTOR Weapon Systems and its associated company, Abrams Airborne Manufacturing, in Tucson, Arizona, in the early 2000s. VLTOR became known for its modular buttstocks and AR-15 components, and it was there that Kincel is credited with developing and naming KeyMod, with “Key” describing its keyhole-shaped slots. The system was first released through Noveske Rifleworks, and VLTOR published the specifications in July 2012 and placed them in the public domain so any manufacturer could use them.
KeyMod let rifle owners bolt rail sections, lights and grips only where needed, producing slimmer, lighter handguards than full-length Picatinny rails. Its main rival, M-LOK, later won out in a 2017 Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane report for USSOCOM, but KeyMod remains common on rifles still in service. At the end of 2012 Kincel left VLTOR, and in January 2013 he became director of research and development for Bravo Company USA, leading a new BCM development shop in Las Vegas focused on the BCM Gunfighter product line.
Key Facts
- Early 2000s: Founded VLTOR and Abrams Airborne Manufacturing in Tucson, Arizona
- July 2012: KeyMod specifications published and placed in the public domain
- December 2012: Announced departure from VLTOR
- January 2013: Named director of research and development at Bravo Company USA
- 2017: Crane report for USSOCOM compares KeyMod and M-LOK