User Panel
As far as I know, the only genuinely Australian piece of kit.
Their Army has resorted to imports from Israel but David is the last man standing |
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Thanks LL.
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Tactical Night Vision Corporation - TNVC, INC.
http://www.tnvc.com [email protected] (909) 796-7000 http://www.tacticalgunfan.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=369&Itemid=74 |
A rather familiar yet disturbing scope from ITL ( Makers of the Mini N/SEAS ).
Looks like a thermal PVS-7 - ??? The Coyote-7 ( Not surprising that suffix ) Or the "Monocular" Version. The Coyote. The Weapon Sight Version - Coyote Weapon Sight. And the "Pocket" version for those with big pockets - the Coyote Pocket Scope. A day/night GPS augmented and directional scope allowing co-ordinates of the TARGET area to be determined just by looking at it... ( Would be nice for directing artillery ). The nCROS ITL Night Weapons Sight. And their well-known monocular ( already popped up in this thread ) The Mini N/SEAS I hadn't seen that thermal one that looks like the PVS-7 before - Though I thought Flex posted some ITL models before, so maybe I missed it or the picture disappeared? David Oh, one last product. I think it's a thermal target aquisition system with a range of 15 km and eyesafe laser... Or perhaps it's a freaking big water bottle and he's really thirsty and taking a HUGE gulp... I can't quite tell from the pic. |
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Thanks, Ironrat, like your Polish ENVG :)
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From IOR in Romania...
http://www.ior.ro/Details/MVN-1x/ http://www.ior.ro/Details/OVN––-1x/ http://www.ior.ro/Details/LON-4x/ Thanks to Chas on the UK forum for posting the links over there... |
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What he lacks in lean, he makes up for with mean.
CA, USA
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Originally Posted By cj7hawk:
The technology required to produce electronics is a lot less complicated than the technology required to produce high-end vacuum devices with MCPs. There are already high resolution CCDs that have been made sensitive to SWIR/MWIR and even LWIR in the lab... In another decade, anyone who can manufacture a computer chip will be able to make thermal devices and most of this research is going on outside of the US. Several American companies are making SWIR sensors for security cameras. It's just a matter of time before they put them in goggles. And there's plenty of SWIR research going on in the US. Not only for night vision, but security as well. The fact SWIR exploits nightglow means there will be some very clear goggles eventually. The motto is, "Current NV tech for detection, SWIR for recognition." Oh, I'm not sure anyone has high-def SWIR at this time, unless you consider 640x512 high-def. |
"Okay, but I'm not good at details, or the big picture. I also show up late, and drunk. I've got a good feeling about this."
- Homer Simpson |
Originally Posted By mattja: Originally Posted By cj7hawk: The technology required to produce electronics is a lot less complicated than the technology required to produce high-end vacuum devices with MCPs. There are already high resolution CCDs that have been made sensitive to SWIR/MWIR and even LWIR in the lab... In another decade, anyone who can manufacture a computer chip will be able to make thermal devices and most of this research is going on outside of the US. Several American companies are making SWIR sensors for security cameras. It's just a matter of time before they put them in goggles. And there's plenty of SWIR research going on in the US. Not only for night vision, but security as well. The fact SWIR exploits nightglow means there will be some very clear goggles eventually. The motto is, "Current NV tech for detection, SWIR for recognition." Oh, I'm not sure anyone has high-def SWIR at this time, unless you consider 640x512 high-def. Yes, they've had high-def for some time and this year are working on making it battlefield ready... The performance of the newer SWIR sensors is now equivalent to the MX-10160C in terms of resolution, gain and such... The new Digital Fusion Goggles also have Long Wave incorporated into a second sensor and combine both images... Anyway, it's off-topic for this thread so I'll leave it there, but if you google "Digital Fusion Goggles" you'll find out a lot about them. Regards David
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More on latest Russian night vision gear
Infratech IT-204 Gen3 weaponsight Infratech IT-204 Gen3 weaponsight and a completely new type for me.. Infratech IT-320D scope attachment Infratech IT-320D scope attachment |
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Originally Posted By last_lancer: More on latest Russian night vision gear Infratech IT-204 Gen3 weaponsight Infratech IT-204 Gen3 weaponsight and a completely new type for me.. Infratech IT-320D scope attachment Infratech IT-320D scope attachment A thermal front-mounted? Very interesting. Does it have windage and elevation adjustment or is it the same as the PVS-22 idea? That would be very difficult to achieve easily with thermal as it would lose the optical alignment inherent in most prox-focus wafer tubes. Regards David
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Nope, David, the IT-320D is an image intensified attachment (Gen3), not a thermal one. Simply a Russian AN/PVS-22.
The name of the company, Infratech, might be a bit deceiving. |
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Wow! Lots of info but does anybody own one of these foriegn designs that can be purchased?
A while back I bought a former USSR NVG's. They were the worst NVG's I had ever seen. So now I have PVS-7's and I'm quite happy. So the question I have is: Does anybody have a experiance they can share about a non US made NV device that others might be intrested and able to buy? |
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Originally Posted By locolobo1234:
Wow! Lots of info but does anybody own one of these foriegn designs that can be purchased? A while back I bought a former USSR NVG's. They were the worst NVG's I had ever seen. So now I have PVS-7's and I'm quite happy. So the question I have is: Does anybody have a experiance they can share about a non US made NV device that others might be intrested and able to buy? Of course. I got quite a lot of experience with various designs, Russian, French, Belgian, British, Dutch... In my opinion, top of notch gear from anywhere is not that far off from what US soldiers use. I'd even go as far as to say that US designs only have slightly better tubes, optics are equal. Typical representative of Russian design school are Dedal D740/D760 scopes which are quite able to cope with M644 Raptors. They are quite well covered on TNVC. Now I got quite serious eperience with Belgium-designed OIP (Thales) MUNOS scopes (WS4/WS6) and I'd say that these are every bit as good as either Dedal or Raptor, and even smaller and lighter. Although I'd prefer a Gen3, a good XR5 tube, too, makes wonders with the design.. |
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Very cool goggles, just two months ago I got a chance to test these for few hours, they belonged to a Swedish soldier who wanted to test my AVS-9 badly during an exercise and offered me his device for a change. The label said they were a Gen2+ with 45 lp/mm. Needless to say that the performance was on the very edge of tactical usefulness but the design itself was very light, compact and comfortable to carry. I can imagine that an XR5 version of this thingie would really blow it..
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Bump to untack and toggle do not archive, link will be in the resource pages at the top of the forum
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<font color=red><font size=3>IYAOYAS</font id=s3></font id=red>
<font size=1>Tennessee Squire</font id=s1> <font size=1>#39 of The Founding Hounds</font id=s1> |
Hi All,
Looks like the Iranians have been busy stealing US designs creating some new NV gear... MNG-87 ANG-86 Honestly even with their PVS-4 knockoff, I'm surprised they're not copying the M4 to put it on also. Most interesting is that the battery life for their PVS-14 knockoff is 15 hours ( All Night! as they point out... ) Meanwhile, the gain of the aviation goggles is 2000fl/fl - ( Compared to AVS-6 at 5500 fl/fl ) and resolution around 52 lp/mm. Still, it makes me wonder how long before the secondhand market for PVS-14's are full of Iranian knock-offs with Gen2 tubes? Be afraid, be very afraid. :( David.
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Originally Posted By last_lancer:
Originally Posted By cj7hawk:Honestly even with their PVS-4 knockoff, I'm surprised they're not copying the M4 to put it on also
LOL, who says they aren't ? http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q35/flex297/Iranindustry007.jpg http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q35/flex297/Iranindustry000.jpg http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q35/flex297/Iranindustry031.jpg Pointing at some bad guys or what? Looks to be with his finger wrapped up behind that trigger. |
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Tactical Night Vision Corporation - TNVC, INC.
http://www.tnvc.com [email protected] (909) 796-7000 "Eliminating our adversaries 940nm at a time" |
Originally Posted By TNVC: Originally Posted By last_lancer: Originally Posted By cj7hawk:Honestly even with their PVS-4 knockoff, I'm surprised they're not copying the M4 to put it on also LOL, who says they aren't ? http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q35/flex297/Iranindustry007.jpg http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q35/flex297/Iranindustry000.jpg http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q35/flex297/Iranindustry031.jpg Pointing at some bad guys or what? Looks to be with his finger wrapped up behind that trigger. Hmmm. Those guys really need to toe the line when it comes to safety. I guess this particular guy has an excuse for not doing it in the future though... But I really would love to know what inscription the middle-eastern version of the AR15 has - and whether it's written in arabic or not. Regards David
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In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king - Erasmus.
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As far as I know, these are knock-offs of the Chinese version Norinco M311 (CQ 5.56mm).
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Originally Posted By last_lancer:
A small update on latest French thermal gear, developed within the FELIN project. The result is a family of SWORD thermal weapon sights developed by Sagem-DS, now part of the Safran group. SWORD Light lightweight compact weapon sight built around a 384x288 FPA core - weight less than 540 grams http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q35/flex297/tmpfelinopticstfb.jpg http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q35/flex297/Safran-SagemSWORDLight384x288FPA.jpg SWORD T&D thermal & day weapon sight - with two independent channels - weight ca 1,5kg http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q35/flex297/lunette-infrarouge.jpg http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q35/flex297/6a00e54efcba6a88340147e268fc5d970b-800wi.jpg SWORD Sniper multipurpose sight comprising a day scope, uncooled TWS and integrated LRF - weight less than 3kg http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q35/flex297/Safran-SagemSWORDSniperthermal-daysight.jpg http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q35/flex297/FELINlunettethermique.jpg LL, thanks for keeping this GREAT thread going. I am intrigued by this latest SWORD unit you have posted (1st one). The weight savings is also impressive for a device such as this and it's VERY interesting to note they are using a MRDS on top. Some are getting it... Have you handled this model or any of them before and what shooting reports can you report with this one? |
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Tactical Night Vision Corporation - TNVC, INC.
http://www.tnvc.com [email protected] (909) 796-7000 "Eliminating our adversaries 940nm at a time" |
Something to consider - The Tarsius 16 - A small 16mm tube based monocular. Most of the US made 16mm tubes are used for goggles and aviation purposes. The 16mm monoculars are significantly smaller and lighter than monoculars made with the 18mm tubes. Uses a Photonis 16mm tube - made in Switzerland. David.
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In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king - Erasmus.
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Lancer and David, thank you –– this thread has far superior layman's information than anything I've found from Jane's and others.
:) |
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Originally Posted By last_lancer:
If we already talk about it, I particularly like the newest French monocular - MONIE made by Angenieux. It uses an 18mm tube, weighs only marginally more (278g), features advanced flat design and two can be combined into a flat biocular. Last picture shows the MONIE in service with French marine commandos. http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q35/flex297/Moniefront3.jpg http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q35/flex297/AngenieuxMonieHypergen7.jpg http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q35/flex297/Monielefteyeposition4.jpg http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q35/flex297/Frenchmarinecommando.jpg Definitely want to talk about this one...Let's talk! |
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Tactical Night Vision Corporation - TNVC, INC.
http://www.tnvc.com [email protected] (909) 796-7000 "Eliminating our adversaries 940nm at a time" |
Well, I only held the thing once but I was quite amazed - which ain't exactly easy to achieve, as you can imagine.
The unit uses front optical elements from Thales LUCIE which brings in quite impressive 51deg FOV. That translates into further enhanced performance. Together with a good XR5 tube this device almost matches US-made 40deg FOV monoculars with thin-film tubes with obvious advantages in terms of ergonomics. Throw in manual gain function and a good MX-11769/UV OMNI VII and alongside the STS-EO Model 2740 (half of AN/PVS-21) you probably get the ultimate monocular Errrrr.. now the price... say eight thousand Euros.. cough cough.. those pesky Frenchies.. but it's not quite surprising for an unit made in hundreds instead of tens of thousands. Here the specsheet Angenieux MONIE specsheet |
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Originally Posted By last_lancer:
Well, I only held the thing once but I was quite amazed - which ain't exactly easy to achieve, as you can imagine. The unit uses front optical elements from Thales LUCIE which brings in quite impressive 51deg FOV. That translates into further enhanced performance. Together with a good XR5 tube this device almost matches US-made 40deg FOV monoculars with thin-film tubes with obvious advantages in terms of ergonomics. Throw in manual gain function and a good MX-11769/UV OMNI VII and alongside the STS-EO Model 2740 (half of AN/PVS-21) you probably get the ultimate monocular Errrrr.. now the price... say eight thousand Euros.. cough cough.. those pesky Frenchies.. but it's not quite surprising for an unit made in hundreds instead of tens of thousands. Here the specsheet Angenieux MONIE specsheet This is the most surprising part...I understand the French Army is small, but I would have suspected HEAVY export orders on this one. I would like to see this unit in house to give it a whirl. |
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Tactical Night Vision Corporation - TNVC, INC.
http://www.tnvc.com [email protected] (909) 796-7000 "Eliminating our adversaries 940nm at a time" |
Originally Posted By TNVC: Originally Posted By last_lancer: Well, I only held the thing once but I was quite amazed - which ain't exactly easy to achieve, as you can imagine. The unit uses front optical elements from Thales LUCIE which brings in quite impressive 51deg FOV. That translates into further enhanced performance. Together with a good XR5 tube this device almost matches US-made 40deg FOV monoculars with thin-film tubes with obvious advantages in terms of ergonomics. Throw in manual gain function and a good MX-11769/UV OMNI VII and alongside the STS-EO Model 2740 (half of AN/PVS-21) you probably get the ultimate monocular Errrrr.. now the price... say eight thousand Euros.. cough cough.. those pesky Frenchies.. but it's not quite surprising for an unit made in hundreds instead of tens of thousands. Here the specsheet Angenieux MONIE specsheet This is the most surprising part...I understand the French Army is small, but I would have suspected HEAVY export orders on this one. I would like to see this unit in house to give it a whirl. When it comes to image intensifier based equipment, the housings are not all that difficult to make. If you can imagine it, you can make it. The benefits of a folded design include that the focal planes are further from the lenses, which resolves some of the issues associated with compact linear design. The lenses can be made of polycarbonate too. Also, you can make your components out of lighter-weight materials since the housing can provide protection and structural integrity throughout the design. That all lets you save weight through the use of lighter materials, but the flip-side is that manufacturing costs are higher if you don't make as many, because it's entirely molded and machined. Kind of like the complexity difference between a PVS-7 and a PVS-14. Linear designs are easier to make, but making a linear design compact is difficult. Anyway, to understand the design, imagine a PVS-7, but with the tube sideways between the mirrors and one eyepiece missing and you have a folded design. The question I'd like to know ( Last Lancer, can you answer this? ) is does the design feature an exit pupil, which I suspect it does. IMO, this is a limitation of the PVS-7 design that is almost never talked about. Exit pupils are perfect for Riflescopes, but not so great for monoculars. I find that when I am using the 7's, it's annoying that my eyes can't move around nearly as much as they can with a '14, because the image goes black. As a result, if I'm running or going through any motion that causes my NOD to wobble a lot, I'd much prefer to have a '14 than a '7 on my melon. Likewise, if it's an issue with the Monie, I'd question how significant it is. ( Though from a tactical perspective, the benefit is that you don't get as much light, if any, splashing on your face without a rubber cup ) Regards David
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In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king - Erasmus.
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Originally Posted By cj7hawk:
Originally Posted By TNVC:
Originally Posted By last_lancer:
Well, I only held the thing once but I was quite amazed - which ain't exactly easy to achieve, as you can imagine. The unit uses front optical elements from Thales LUCIE which brings in quite impressive 51deg FOV. That translates into further enhanced performance. Together with a good XR5 tube this device almost matches US-made 40deg FOV monoculars with thin-film tubes with obvious advantages in terms of ergonomics. Throw in manual gain function and a good MX-11769/UV OMNI VII and alongside the STS-EO Model 2740 (half of AN/PVS-21) you probably get the ultimate monocular Errrrr.. now the price... say eight thousand Euros.. cough cough.. those pesky Frenchies.. but it's not quite surprising for an unit made in hundreds instead of tens of thousands. Here the specsheet Angenieux MONIE specsheet This is the most surprising part...I understand the French Army is small, but I would have suspected HEAVY export orders on this one. I would like to see this unit in house to give it a whirl. When it comes to image intensifier based equipment, the housings are not all that difficult to make. If you can imagine it, you can make it. The benefits of a folded design include that the focal planes are further from the lenses, which resolves some of the issues associated with compact linear design. The lenses can be made of polycarbonate too. Also, you can make your components out of lighter-weight materials since the housing can provide protection and structural integrity throughout the design. That all lets you save weight through the use of lighter materials, but the flip-side is that manufacturing costs are higher if you don't make as many, because it's entirely molded and machined. Kind of like the complexity difference between a PVS-7 and a PVS-14. Linear designs are easier to make, but making a linear design compact is difficult. Anyway, to understand the design, imagine a PVS-7, but with the tube sideways between the mirrors and one eyepiece missing and you have a folded design. The question I'd like to know ( Last Lancer, can you answer this? ) is does the design feature an exit pupil, which I suspect it does. IMO, this is a limitation of the PVS-7 design that is almost never talked about. Exit pupils are perfect for Riflescopes, but not so great for monoculars. I find that when I am using the 7's, it's annoying that my eyes can't move around nearly as much as they can with a '14, because the image goes black. As a result, if I'm running or going through any motion that causes my NOD to wobble a lot, I'd much prefer to have a '14 than a '7 on my melon. Likewise, if it's an issue with the Monie, I'd question how significant it is. ( Though from a tactical perspective, the benefit is that you don't get as much light, if any, splashing on your face without a rubber cup ) Regards David
That issue you speak of is more pronounced with the PVS-7C as opposed to the PVS-7B or D that is most widely used. The newer PVS-7 models are pretty good. I don't know if the waterproofing Litton tried with the optics has anything to do with this but I do know the 7B is much better. |
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I buy broken night vision. Has to be Gen 2 or above. PM me. Fan of the "Q" underground invention division.
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Originally Posted By last_lancer: Originally Posted By cj7hawk: The question I'd like to know ( Last Lancer, can you answer this? ) is does the design feature an exit pupil, which I suspect it does. Likewise, if it's an issue with the Monie, I'd question how significant it is. ( Though from a tactical perspective, the benefit is that you don't get as much light, if any, splashing on your face without a rubber cup ) Regards David David, the design largely shares the optics with the well known Thales/Angenieux OB70 LUCIE goggles which, as obvious from the pictures, does have exit pupils. BTW, both LUCIE and MONIE do use eyecups, very soft rubber rings whose feel reminds me of black-colored condoms more than anything else. Have you used one? How do you find it works under high movement conditions (eg, running ) Regards David
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In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king - Erasmus.
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Sure I have. Both OB70 and SIMRAD GN of which some are used within the IFOR guys.
The balance of the things is exceptional and beats anything I have had mounted on my melon thus far. You can barely feel you got something mounted on - feels like having a PVS-14 mounted rotated by 90deg. The big drawback of the LUCIE is that it ain't Gen3 upgradable. From what I know it uses some weird IIT format which only exists with DEP-Photonis (XX2050R) The only thing I can imagine to top these devices ergonomics-wise would be the PVS-21. |
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Short clip of Russian Mi-8MTKO helicopter.
Particularly interesting is the view through the "Russian ANVIS" - the GEO-ONV1 aviators goggles [1:06 - 1:24] The device itself is visible in [0:26 - 0:28] http://youtu.be/xRBH0z4ae_o |
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Originally Posted By last_lancer:
Well, I only held the thing once but I was quite amazed - which ain't exactly easy to achieve, as you can imagine. The unit uses front optical elements from Thales LUCIE which brings in quite impressive 51deg FOV. That translates into further enhanced performance. Together with a good XR5 tube this device almost matches US-made 40deg FOV monoculars with thin-film tubes with obvious advantages in terms of ergonomics. Interesting, but choosing a wider FOV comes at a cost of spatial resolution. Is it really a good idea? After all allmost everyone is sticking to a standard 40 deg FOV and it's not rocket science to change the optics. I think the Belgian OIP went even further, selling as an option their goggles with non-standard optics and a 60 deg FOV. Ironrat |
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Originally Posted By hrt4me: what is this hanging off the rifle of this German soldier? http://cdn.spiegel.de/images/image-40111-galleryV9-ixmj.jpg A German? Or perhaps the flashlight? It doesn't look like either an IR flashlight or NV gear to me. What were you looking at specifically? The scope looks like a normal dichroic/holographic sight to me? David
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In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king - Erasmus.
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That is an LLM01 made by Oerlikon Contraves GmbH. It is a PEQ-16 type device, here is a wiki page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LLM01 |
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Originally Posted By Mrf2:
That is an LLM01 made by Oerlikon Contraves GmbH. It is a PEQ-16 type device, here is a wiki page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LLM01 Thanks for the informative reply; I had never before seen nor heard of the LLM01. |
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Few close-up shots.. This thing is now made by Rheinmetall Soldier Electronics GmbH, Stockach, Germany
LLM01 specsheet |
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Originally Posted By last_lancer: Few close-up shots.. This thing is now made by Rheinmetall Soldier Electronics GmbH, Stockach, Germany LLM01 specsheet Thanks for those great close-up shots! Any chance you might happen to have any photographs of the LLM01 in use, either visible or IR mode (through NODs)? To whom are these units issued? KSK only, or general issue throughout the BW? What about BP or BKA or LKA (and GSG-9 and SEKs, respectively)? |
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They are not general BW issue but still are very widespread in Bundeswehr units, especially those engaged in international operations (ISAF, KFOR, EUFOR, UNMIS, UNIFIL)
And of course all SpecOps - KSK, Fallschirmjäger, MPs (Feldjäger), Kampfschwimmer, Force Recon (Fernspäherkompanie)... LLM01 is in service with Austrian Bundesheer, Danish Army and British units. I have also seen them with Romanian 1st SOB Eagles or Slovak 5PSU and 22nd MechDiv. Regd. law enforcement, got no idea about BKA/LKA but they surely do serve with GSG or SEK. |
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