Rail Interface System (RIS, sometimes also referred to as Rail Accessory Systems) are the primary method of attaching accessories to small firearms such as assault rifles (such as the American Colt M16 rifle and semi-automatic AR-15 civilian version which were originally designed by Armalite), and light machine guns. This is done primarily in militaries and by firearm enthusiasts to improve the usability of the weapon being accessorized quickly and efficiently without requiring the weapon operator to field-strip the weapon. Most quality RIS systems are built to the M1913 Picatinny standard, which was the first standard developed.
There are different styles of RIS, depending on how much the operator will be accessorizing the weapon. Basic systems that can be installed on weapons such as the previously mentioned AR-15/M16 are usually small rails (20mm standard) with holes machined in them that are screwed onto the existing hand guard on the rifle and can cost as little as $25 to $40 USD. More advanced systems allow for numerous accessories to be mounted simultaneously and cost an average minimum of $200 USD and up for a decent quality system.
Common accessories include flashlights, laser aiming modules, forward hand grips for improving weapon handling, scopes for medium ranged targets, and reflex/red-dot sights for short to medium ranged targets.
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