Highly sensitive, low power consuming thermal and low-light imaging sensors employed in lightweight, hand held optronic imaging systems used by commanders, forward observers, fire controllers and recon teams, facilitating better situational understanding, target location, coordination and control. These lightweight and compact hand held imagers combine several types of sensors, including cooled or uncooled thermal, video imagers for daylight or low-light level conditions, laser rangefinders, target marker or laser pointers. Additional equipment includes GPS, integrated map display and communications interfaces. Combined with miniature or lightweight laser designators, such devices are transformed into a ‘trigger’ employing remotely fired laser guided munitions.
Hand held thermal imagers from different makers were displayed. Systems included the MilCam series, Opus H, the Moskito from Vectoronix and various systems, currently employed by the US Army and Marine Corps.
‘Nebula’ used by the US Army was picked up by by the US Army Rapid Equipping Force to be shipped to US Forces in AFghanistan, to meet an urgent operational requirement.
It displayed the MilCAM series Recon III handheld thermal binoculars, providing situational awareness, assisting the tasks of targeting and surveillance. The company introduced two new Recon III models. The Ultra-light version weighs only 5 pounds (2.3 kg) and uses a large format (640×480) long wave VOx Microbolometer with new automatic digital image processor. It is powered by two Lithium D cells sustaining up to four fours of operation. Enhancing target discrimination in daylight operations, the new and compact Recon III Lite thermal binocular combines the same sensor used in the Ultralite model with high resolution (768×494) color video camera. Both sensors are fitted with x4 continuous zoom and can be presented on the system’s integral OLED display in a full screen or split screen format. This version can also accommodate an optional laser pointer and additional memory to store up to 100 JPEG images, or download images to an external device via a USB connection. The ‘Nebula’ thermal binocular sight displayed at AUSA 2008 by the US Army Rapid Equipping Force was shipped to the US Forces in Afghanistan, to meet an urgent operational requirement for improving night performance.
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