Welcome to TTS Armament

TTS Armament is the firearms brand of Thompson & Smith Industries, LLC, founded by Levi Thompson and Travis Smith. This business came out of firearms instruction, real-world application, manufacturing, and dedicated lifelong learning, along with a shared goal of building something worthwhile in the firearms industry. They started it to make and offer products they can put their name on and to build something meant to last.

Where it started

The roots of TTS Armament go back to Levi Thompson’s background in firearms, gunsmithing, military service, and instruction. Levi has been around firearms since he was young and began gunsmithing in his teens. He has also had a long-standing goal of becoming a firearms manufacturer for as far back as he can remember, going back at least to his high school years. That goal stayed with him long before the company itself existed.

From 2012 to 2022, Levi served in the United States Air Force, reaching the rank of Staff Sergeant. During that time, he worked in Security Forces, spent time as a Combat Arms instructor, and worked in the Air Force gunsmith shop. That put him around firearms from the user side, the training side, and the maintenance side. It also gave him the opportunity to be involved in work connected to the GAU-5A Aircrew Self-Defense Weapon and participated in testing related to the SIG M18.

The Thinking Shooter

One of the ideas that shaped this company came from Levi’s time as an instructor. When students struggled, he would often stop them and ask whether what they had just done actually made sense, or whether there was a better way to do it. He would tell them to “make it make sense”, a phrase that became a recurring part of his teaching. The point was not just to fix a mistake in the moment. It was to get people to slow down, think through what they were doing, and understand why they were doing it instead of blindly repeating motions without understanding the reason behind them.

Out of that same mindset came the phrase “Be a thinking shooter.” Neither phrase was just about marksmanship. They were about understanding the weapon system, understanding the task, and understanding why something works. That way of thinking later carried over into product design, tools, and the way this business approaches problem-solving. If something does not make sense, it needs to be questioned, reworked, or improved until it does.

Levi later took that same mindset outside the military classroom through The Thinking Shooter, a platform he built to teach others how to better understand their weapons, think through what they were doing, and train with more purpose. That platform helped carry those ideas beyond the military environment, gave him a way to share them with a broader audience, and played a real role in paving the way for TTS Armament. It came before the company, but it was built on the same foundation and, in a lot of ways, was the early public-facing expression of the mindset that now drives the business.

From military experience to manufacturing

After separating from the military, Levi decided it was time to move toward a long-term goal of building something in the firearms manufacturing space. Rather than pretend to know everything up front, he went into manufacturing to learn the trade, build skill, and gain a better understanding of what it takes to actually make products the right way. That included work in machining, quality, CNC operation, mold repair, tooling, and inspection, along with a lot of self-directed learning outside of work.

In 2024, Levi also began building his own shop with personal funds. By June of that year, the shop was built and equipped with machines and tools that gave him a place to keep developing his skills and pushing further. A lot of that period was spent learning by doing — reading, watching, studying, practicing, and figuring things out through hands-on work.

The partnership behind the company

During Levi’s time in manufacturing, he met Travis Smith. That friendship later became a business partnership. Travis brought his own background in machining, engineering-related education, and precision manufacturing. His experience includes machining, aerospace-related work, formal apprenticeship training, journeyman certification, and associates degrees in both mechanical engineering and computer science.

Together, Levi and Travis built Thompson & Smith Industries, LLC, with TTS Armament operating as a DBA under that company. That structure was intentional and gives the business room to grow into something broader than a single brand or product line, with the ability to serve multiple industries over time.

What TTS Armament is

TTS Armament is a veteran-owned company focused on firearms, tools, parts, components, equipment, and gear for people who care about function, quality, and real-world usefulness. Over time, the goal is to continue expanding the lineup with more components, more tools, more gear, and complete weapon systems. That future direction includes areas such as:

• Expanded AR-15 parts lineup
• AR15 rifles and carbines
• AK-style rifles and components
• Bolt-action rifles and components
• Handgun systems and components
• Additional armorer’s tools, swag, branded merch, and much more.

How we think about products

The standard is simple: if a product does not serve a real purpose, it does not belong. That applies to what we make and what we offer. A product should solve a problem, perform the way it is expected, and justify its place. It should not need hype to carry it. That is part of why the company puts so much weight on function-first design, disciplined standards, and practical usefulness. The point is not to fill a catalog for the sake of filling one. The point is to build and offer products worth owning.

Thompson & Smith Industries beyond the brand

TTS Armament is the firearms-facing brand, while Thompson & Smith Industries, LLC is positioned more broadly with contract manufacturing as its primary focus. Its long-term direction includes precision machining, research and development, custom manufacturing, and continued growth in American-made production capability. The goal is not just to sell branded products online, but to grow into a larger manufacturing operation over time, with increased capacity, a larger facility, and additional employees.

Training and education

Another part of the long-term plan is to bring back The Thinking Shooter as a training division of the company. The goal there is not just to sell products, but to offer useful instruction as well. That may include shooting classes, armorer’s courses, and other education built around the same mindset that helped shape the company in the first place. The idea is simple: equipment matters, but knowledge matters too.

What we are building

TTS Armament is still early in the process, but the direction is already clear. The goal is to build a serious brand in the firearms industry — one with better products, solid standards, room to grow, and a reputation that comes from doing things the right way. We are building it around the backgrounds, experience, and values that got us here:

• Firearms instruction
• Real-world use
• Gunsmithing and armorer work
• Machining and manufacturing
• Disciplined self-education
• Long-term thinking

That is the foundation TTS Armament is being built on.

Written by: The TTS Armament blog team