New technology will link night vision and rifle scope: The Army is closing in on wireless technology that will connect an infrared image from a rifle scope camera into the view of a soldier's night vision goggle. When the new gear rolls out in a few years, officials say it will revolutionize how deadly — and safe — soldiers can be.
The view via the Enhanced Night Vision Goggle, including the rifle's crosshairs, will mean a “leap-ahead capability” in target-acquisition and situational awareness, said Col Michael Sloane, Project Manager for Soldier Sensors and Lasers.
"It’s really blow-your-mind cool," Sloane told Army Times and other media outlets at a roundtable at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, on Wednesday.
The ENVG, first fielded in to soldiers in 2009, provides thermal imagery that amplifies heat signatures, rather than simply enhancing visible light. This means potential threats appear with substantially more contrast, even through visual impediments, such as smoke.
PEO Soldier has linked the ENVG program into another program for a rifle scope, the Family of Weapon Sights — Individual. By linking the two, a soldier will be able to aim his weapon in the middle of the night, without raising it to his eye.
The pairing of equipment also improves situational awareness by retaining ENVG’s wider field of vision — about 40 degrees compared to the rifle scope’s 18-26 degrees, according to product manager for soldier maneuver sensors Lt. Col. Timothy Fuller.
