For a soldier on patrol on a moonless, cloudy night, identifying an enemy from his own colleagues can be a difficult proposition. Chances are a slight error in judgment can be disastrous. Thanks to the advent of new night vision technologies, soldiers are now literally able to own the night with the ability to see, maneuver and shoot with precision at night or even during periods of reduced visibility.
In India too, the development of indigenous night vision cameras, gun sights and binoculars for internal security would soon be a reality and the dependence on other countries like Israel for their supply would end soon. Scientists at the Materials Research Centre (MRC) at the Indian Institute of Science, (IISc) Bangalore, are in advanced stages of developing homegrown technology for the production of night vision binoculars, gun sights and cameras used extensively by the armed forces and security agencies guarding the borders of the country. Scientists in Bangalore are developing such gadgets using quantum well infrared photo detectors technology.
The US Army, engaged in anti-terrorism operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, uses two different types of night vision devices?image intensifiers and thermals. Image-intensifying devices are based upon light amplification and must have some light available. These devices can amplify the available light from 2,000 to 5,000 times. Thermal forward-looking infrared (FLIR) detectors?sometimes called sensors?work by sensing the temperature difference between an object and its environment. FLIR systems are installed on certain combat vehicles and helicopters.
Still a layman really wonders, do these things really work? Can a person actually see in the dark? The answer is most definitely yes. With the proper night-vision equipment, you can see a person standing over 200 yards away on a moonless, cloudy night!
During the history of warfare, operations at night have always been degraded significantly, if not totally avoided. Typically, soldiers fighting at night have had to resort to artificial illumination. The use of light sources on the battlefield had the detrimental result of giving away tactical positions and information about maneuvers. The advent of new technologies initially in the 1950s and continuing into the present time has changed this situation.
For instance, scientists at the US Army?s communications-electronics command night vision and electronic sensors directorate have discovered ways to capture available electro-magnetic radiation outside that portion of the spectrum visible to the human eye. At a technical level, night vision devices are electro-optical devices that intensify or amplify existing light instead of relying on a light source of their own. Image intensifiers capture ambient light and amplify it thousands of times by electronic means to display the battlefield to a soldier via a phosphor display such as night vision goggles. This ambient light comes from the stars, moon or sky glow from distant manmade sources, such as cities. The devices are sensitive to a broad spectrum of light, from visible to infrared (invisible).
Typically, light enters the night vision device through an objective lens and strikes a photo cathode powered by a high energy charge from the power supply. The energy charge accelerates across a vacuum inside the intensifier and strikes a phosphor screen (like a TV screen) where the image is focused. The eyepiece magnifies the image for a soldier groping in the dark.
For all practical purposes, the Indian Army and paramilitary forces are fighting blind at night, as the soldiers face a glaring shortage of night vision devices. The ones in service are a generation behind what Pakistani and Chinese forces already have and only 10% of the Indian Army?s tanks have a proven night-fighting capability. For all practical purposes, in a modern scenario where most battles are fought under the cover of darkness, the inability to even see the enemy is crippling the war capabilities of the Indian Army.
At the crux of the matter is the Army?s requirement of new third generation night vision devices for soldiers and night sights for rifles. The Indian Army currently has second generation devices which are termed more of a hindrance than an asset. The difference is in the capability to see at night. Pakistan, on the other hand, has got a range of third generation devices from the US. Hunt is on for advanced night-vision goggles for the Indian Army and Air Force?s pilots flying helicopters like Cheetahs, Chetaks and Dhruv advanced light helicopters to ensure they can operate effectively after sunset.
An army equipped with night vision goggles, helmets, and weapons sights would be able to operate 24 hours a day. ?The night vision industry has evolved through three stages. The first generation technology is obsolete in the US market. We offer products based on generation II, II-plus, III, and III-plus. Each generation offers more sensitivity and can operate effectively on less light,? says explains Ron Davis, director of international business development at ITT Night Vision, a company which has sold night vision goggles for the Indian armed forces.
Among others, the Q-Sight family is a new line of helmet display products developed byBAE Systems, which is likely to be offered to the Indian armed forces. The Q-Sight products use patented technology to move light using holographic waveguides. Tested in flight trials in the US and UK, the technology offers a modular approach to giving pilots head-up and eyes-out capability. It combines mission-critical situational awareness with significant improvements in weight, cost, flexibility, simplicity, and optical performance.
According to Paul Cooke, director, business development, rotary wing avionics, BAE Systems, the Q-Sight design eliminates bulky projection optics to provide maximum safety and comfort and avoid undesirable centre-of-gravity issues. The lightweight, miniature display clips to any standard helmet, giving the pilot plug-and-play capability.
Conventional helmet display systems use complex and expensive lens groups to move the image from an LCD to an objective lens. ?BAE Systems? patented quantum technology overcomes these factors by using holography techniques, directly coupling the output of an LCD device to a credit-card-size combining lens and eliminating the need for intermediate lenses,? claims Cooke.
In modern warfare, night vision devices might seem weird-looking, but for the night fighters groping in the dark, they give the ability to fight with precision.