What is the difference between Daniel Defense RIS II MK18 FDE Rail Interface System Assembly 01-004-08020-011 vs MK18 RAIL INTERFACE SYSTEM II, RIS II (FDE)
SKU 01-004-16120. They look the same but have a different sku. Anybody know the difference?

One is the civilian grade one and the other is the government one. I think the only difference is one can't be sold to the government and vice versa.

If that's the only difference will Daniel defense  sell it to me if I have a me if I have a military ID it's listed on there website and it's cheaper

You might want to hit the DD industry forum to see if it is something you could purchase. It looks like it is something you can purchase though since it has a Add to cart button but it's just out of stock.

They’re the same exact rail.  My guess is they’ve just updated the SKU and never deleted the old one off their website.

I’m not sure why you’d bother anyway, it’s not hard to find DD RIS IIs on sale.  EuroOptic currently has the first SKU on sale for cheaper than either listed on DDs site ($409).  It’s also not hard to find like new secondhand examples for even cheaper.

Just seems like unnecessary steps and headache going through DD for no material gain.

I wonder if it has to do with markings? I have 2 surplus DD rails (MK18 RIS II, and RIS II FSB). Both have NSN and a cage code marked. Idk if the rails put right on to the commercial market have those markings.

I do believe the only ones that don't have a NSN would be the black color one but I could be wrong. I believe they have a cage code since that would be DD themselves, but not the part NSN except on the FDE model.

The military has a weird thing about selling to commercial market with their products. Some companies can take it right off the same assembly line and give it to customers but others have to do a separate thing to sell it to the commercial market. Not sure if that is by contract, by a law of some sort, or if it's just a marketing ploy to get people to buy their crap.

Black rail/NSN markings and CAGE:
Attached File


Rather than relying on conjecture, post in the DD Industry Forum for definitive answers.

Marler will give you your answers.

https://www.ar15.com/forums/Industry/Daniel-Defense/382/