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Do You See What I See?
U.S. aviation still sets the pace in night vision technology. Driving in the dark with a
multi-million dollar helicopter and a load of special operators takes nerve and the right
visual aids.
By J. Michael Brower
In January 2002 when a U.S. Marine Corps KC-130 crashed in Pakistan, the issue of cockpit
compatibility with night vision goggles (NVGs) received front page, if fleeting, attention. Whatever
the cause or combination of causes that resulted in the Shemsi, Pakistan, crash, the Navy/Marine
Corps procurement of 5,423 NVG sets through fiscal year 2004 indicated the Corps' appreciation for
the demands of night ops.
It was asked at the time of the KC-130 crash if the American military still "owned the night," or if it
had overreached due to accelerated OPTEMPO fighting the rapidly expanding global war on terrorism
(GWOT). Had OPTEMPO outpaced the availability of night vision technology (NVT) for the cockpit
and for the ground troops? Has proliferation of technology, so much the focus in the weapons of
mass destruction (WMD) debate, similarly spread to the NVT sector, creating conditions that may
allow the U.S. military to occasionally "lease," but not necessarily "own," the night in future combat
situations?
ITT Industries Night Vision (ITT) was awarded the Marine NVG contract. The company's executives
have leveraged ITT's 40 years of experience in the science of neutralizing the night and gaining
unique insight into the problems of lightless operations. Marine Corps aviation policy makers
recognized the need to replace their MXU-810 "Cats Eyes" with about 1,650 sets of
AN/AVS-9/F4949G Generation III NVGs. The AN/AVS-9/F4949Gs provide enhanced resolution for
less than half the price of the older "Cats Eyes." From ITT, Larry Curfiss, vice president and director,
Business Development, and Jim Harris, vice president and director, Engineering, understand the
powerful pressures on the U.S. military today in terms of night ops and the need to continue
developing NVT. "While the Army is our primary customer, we're seeing an across-the-board
heightened interest and renewed awareness of the indispensability of NVT," said Curfiss.

Do You See What I See? - Military Information Technology http://www.special-operations-technology.com/print_article.cfm?...
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Al Dassonville, deputy product manager, Sensors and Lasers at PEO Soldier, agreed that interest in
NVT has rarely been a greater priority than today. "As a program manager, we have to make a
decision about providing the latest technology and the cost involved. Right now, our military is the
only armed forces that ensures everyone involved in night operations, from the aviator to the
infantry has a pair of Gen III NVGs available to him or her," he said. "The aviators used to have
older goggles, and now have the V3s, which are greatly improved, making our aviators among the
most versatile in the world for night operations. Those started getting out to in June 2002, and
we've had great feedback."
R&D Challenges
The post-September 11 landscape and backdrop of the GWOT have heightened appreciation for the
effectiveness of night operations, particularly in working with coalition partners. "We're seeing U.S.
forces teaming with foreign militaries to fight terrorism, and there is a technology gap, particularly
in terms of night operations. As we supply our allies with NVT, we have to be prudent and be sure
we stay consistent with the Figure of Merit (FoM) concept, that is, ensuring that U.S. forces continue
to receive the best night vision equipment available," Curfiss explained. With reduced U.S. military
procurements, U.S. supplies of NVT have turned to foreign military sales (FMS) to maintain
traditional levels that support R&D efforts.
The State Department established a new FoM standard (a mathematical calculation used to define
the level of performance - detection range - of an image intensifier tube and, thereby, categorize -
and limit - its exportability). The FoM approach allows American companies to export less
sophisticated systems than true "state of the art" to allied armed forces. Maintaining a competitive
edge in this arena is important because some nations are exporting NVT without sufficient
forethought as to who may end up using the technology. Dassonville explained that the FoM meant
that close allies are getting the maximum FoM of 1,600, which is just under the technology level the
Army received in its 1996 Omnibus IV contracts. Other nations not considered hostile are permitted
to receive Gen III tubes with a 1,250 FoM, which is the equated to Army Gen I & II tubes.
"The kinds of NVG support that the U.S. military needs today in Iraq and Afghanistan is the same
level of support that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) needs in its operations here at
home," Curfiss said. "Primarily, the problem is getting DHS to release funds that will allow
contractors to support its mission. The contracting mechanisms are still gearing up. Contractors
need to maintain a broad customer base internationally, with the U.S. military and with DHS, to
ensure that we can re-invest in the R&D work that keeps our technology second to none."
I-Squared
The image intensifier (I-squared) is at the heart of NVT. A few years ago the most talked-about
advancement in I-squared technology was the elimination of the ion barrier film from the Gen 3
microchannel plate (MCP), which resulted in an "unfilmed" or "filmless" MCP. Many in the Army and
industry believed that filmless tube technology represented the next generation (Gen IV) in image
intensifier technology.
Through its filmless research, ITT discovered that significantly thinning - rather than totally
removing - the film provided Gen 3 performance comparable to filmless, while also maintaining the
longer life of the Gen 3 tube. ITT called its achievement the Gen 3 Pinnacle. Its first
Pinnacle-equipped systems were delivered in early 2001, priced at approximately $2,500 per ground
goggle. As a result of its efforts to thin the film, reduce the tube's "halo" effect, reduce the spacing
between the photocathode and the MCP, and add an auto-gated power supply, ITT received the
maximum allowable portion of the Army's Omnibus VI contract. Now in production, Pinnacle
provides approximately 90 percent of what the government originally wanted in terms of
performance improvement, and the Army has rescinded its earlier definition of Generation IV.
Filmless technology still is available, but only to "specialty customers" such as U.S. special
operations forces due to its tendency to degrade at a much quicker (and more costly) rate than Gen
III equipment. The technology debate between thin-filmed tubes versus unfilmed tubes is the point