About Peak Beam Systems, Inc.

Peak Beam Systems, Inc. is a leader in the design and manufacture of high-intensity illumination devices for military and security applications. Peak Beam’s flagship product, the Maxa Beam Searchlight, has been tested and fielded by U.S. military and federal agencies sine 1986 and continues to be the longest range handheld searchlight available in the world.

The Maxa Beam Searchlight has several characteristics that set it apart from the competition, including an unparalleled 12,000,000 CandlePower output, motorized beam width adjustment, state-of-the-art rechargeable batteries, and a variety of infrared and other beam filtering options. The Maxa Beam also features a strobe mode that will temporarily disorient and disrupt a target’s vision at long ranges, making the searchlight an invaluable tool for riot control, border protection, and maritime security.

In addition to its popular handheld searchlights, Peak Beam also offers a diverse line of remote-controlled Maxa Beam Searchlight systems. Remote-controlled Maxa Beam Searchlights are typically installed onto stationary and mobile remote surveillance, security, and weapons systems where they are used to detect and deter targets, aid day/night cameras, and assist with site illumination and surveillance. Remote-controlled Maxa Beam Searchlights feature a wide variety of computer-controlled functions including strobe rate, beam width adjustment, and beam intensity.

History

In 1985 Bill McManus, the founder and president of McManus Security Systems, was asked to conduct a security lighting consultation for the U.S. Navy’s Naval Electronics Systems Engineering Activity (NESEA) Water-Side Security Evaluation at Sub Base Bangor in Washington. During the consultation, Mr. McManus realized that the U.S. military had a critical need for portable, long range searchlights that were capable of illuminating in visible and infrared. Mr. McManus became extremely interested in the complex issues surrounding night imaging and perimeter security and decided to focus his efforts on developing a solution for the military.

Drawing upon his decades of experience as a lighting engineer, Mr. McManus designed the original Maxa Beam Searchlight. Following the Maxa Beam’s release in 1986, U.S. and friendly governments soon recognized that this searchlight had the ability to significantly aid in their mission to detect terrorist attacks. As early as 1989, the McManus team was busy delivering hundreds of first generation Maxa Beam Searchlights to government customers including the SEALs, Sub-Lant, FMF-Lant, NYPD, FBI, NIS and the British SAS.

Today, Peak Beam’s Maxa Beam Searchlights are deployed by all branches of the U.S. military and federal law enforcement including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Secret Service and Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Internationally, Maxa Beam Searchlights have been exported to more than sixty-five countries where the searchlights are utilized for security, surveillance and law enforcement applications.

Peak Beam Systems continues to be owned and operated by the McManus family and is a woman-owned small business. Peak Beam is proud to manufacture the Maxa Beam Searchlight in Edgemont, Pennsylvania and the company is committed to continuing the research and development of new products and technologies that will support the defense and security of free nations throughout the world.