The most sophisticated night vision devices used by the US Army resemble Predator-level technology. The American military demonstrated the capabilities of these optics systems in 2021, as noted by Slash Gear.
But more interestingly, these cutting-edge goggles, known as the Enhanced Night Vision Goggle-Binocular (ENVG-B), can also see in total darkness.
EL CENTRO, CA - NOVEMBER 3: The view through night goggles shows a pilot using Display Night Vision Goggles (DNVG) to fly by as members of the UK's Royal Air Force (RAF) fly over parts of Imperial County and in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park during Merlin Helicopter training out of Naval Air Facility (NAF) El Centro in Exercise MERLIN VORTEX on November 3, 2009 near El Centro, California. The RAF chose the southern California desert in part for its variety of hot and often dusty desert and rugged high mountains for training pilots and acclimatizing troops and Merlin helicopters for the extreme environments they will face upon deployed to Afghanistan later this year.
Predator-like Abilities
The goggles use vivid outlines to draw attention to possible targets. This is almost synonymous with the adversary of the "Predator" film series, which uses an analogous optical system built into its mask.
The extraterrestrial has the ability to cycle through numerous filters that highlight different items, thanks to the eyesight enhancement seen in the movie.
The US Army currently has something akin to this capability with the ENVG-B. These goggles simply use a single filter that sees everything, removing the need to cycle through several modes in the process.
The ENVG-B largely relies on heat signatures, similar to how Predators in the movies used them to locate their prey. The US Army highlighted this capacity in a tweet by highlighting gunfire and human beings in distinct, contrasting colors.
According to the provider, Elbit Systems of America, the US has already made orders worth $107 million to outfit soldiers with ENVG-B units. L3Harris Technologies has also provided the military's 10th Mountain Division with more than 1,500 cutting-edge googles.
ENVG-B Advantages
Slash Gear notes that one of the advantages of the ENVG-B is that it significantly improves a soldier's situational awareness in all lighting circumstances, enabling them to see through smoke, fog, or other situations when visibility is low.
These night-vision goggles also demonstrate "rapid target acquisition." This means soldiers can shoot from cover without thrusting their heads out by integrating their ENVG-B goggles with their weapon sights.
The ENVG-Bs from Elbit Systems can distinguish between friends and enemies, which is essential in the warzone.
The manufacturers appear to have fulfilled their promise to produce the most powerful night vision equipment the American military has ever used by combining augmented reality with thermal imaging, night vision, and sharper visuals.
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