For decades, the U.S. Military has prided itself on "owning the night" thanks to its unmatched night vision technology. Most adversaries, especially asymmetric ones, didn't possess any or only small night vision capabilities. Today, however, as a peer-to-peer conflict is more probable than before, most potential adversaries have many night vision devices and capabilities. In this situation, "owning the night" is an illusion! Nevertheless, it is possible to build night capabilities to overmatch potential adversaries. What does that mean for the disembarked fighting soldier?!
Remark: I will focus on the disembarked fighting soldier and not on the special forces; nevertheless, the conclusions will apply to everyone. I will also not cover the "white light" and focus on night vision technology.
What is commonly used today?
Most modern and less modern armies have monocular or binocular night vision devices (NODs) and weapon laser aiming devices at their disposal. Modern armies also use thermal weapon sights, especially for their snipers. Multifunction infrared binoculars (incorporating low-light cameras) are also widely available today. Very few armies use clip-on thermal devices for their NODs.
What are the problems?
What are the inherent problems if you and your adversary have the above-mentioned night vision capabilities at their disposal?!
Identification with NODs: The missing magnification, relatively low resolution, and ambient light only allow the identification of a situation (recognize weapons) over distances from around. 100m in optimal conditions to zero meters in bad conditions (indoor, dense forest, no moon/ stars).
Detection with NODs: When there is a lot of ambient light, there are also a lot of natural shadows (e.g., from bushes, trees, hills, etc.) and manmade shadows (e.g., from buildings, vehicles, open windows, doors, etc.). NODs generally don't allow to see inside the shadows without using (active) laser illuminators, thus making target detection difficult and even impossible.
Detection of aiming lasers: In short, aiming lasers work both ways! If your adversary also uses NODs, then he can see from where the laser originates, i.e., you! He will also see your aiming lasers with the low light camera from his multifunction infrared binoculars. And lastly, he can also detect you if he's using a wearable laser detection device (which will also detect a laser range finder).
Friendly Force Identification: Today most used identification devices are infrared reflective patches and infrared (blinking) beacons. Reflective patches generally necessitate an active infrared illumination to be visible in the NODs, and the beacon is logically active (see previous paragraph). But can you be sure that the reflections/ beacons belong to your own troops?! Probably not! Furthermore, the soldiers (snipers) using thermal devices will not be able to see an infrared reflective patch or beacons.
What can we do?
Preliminary remark: I will not discuss in-depth digital night vision. Elbit Systems received In September 2022 a $10-million contract to develop an Advanced Low Light Level Sensor (ALLLS) for the U.S. Army's Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) 2.0. It will probably take many years before digital NODs, with better performance than analog tubes, will be fieldable.
Below, I wrote some hints about what to do to solve the above-mentioned problems. However, the most crucial step to achieve an overmatch is to get rid of active laser devices.
Night Vision Devices: We don't expect significant improvements in the performance of infrared NODs. Small improvements can be made in the FOM, optical aperture, and quality, but they will bear no relevant significance. The most significant improvement, however, can be achieved through the fusion of the image intensified with a thermal image (with a clip-on device or build-in system). Fusion systems will improve operational capability dramatically through better situational awareness, better detection, and a massive reduction in the dependence on ambient light. Furthermore, such systems allow augmented reality to be displayed (but that's another story).
Identification and Targeting: As thermal imaging technology has evolved rapidly, small and performant weapon sights are available for small arms, e.g., assault rifles and machine guns. They will, on one side, allow the identification of a situation (recognize weapons) at further distances than NODs and, on the other side, let the passive targeting at longer distances than the combination NOD – Infrared aiming laser.
Identification: Firstly, the (passive) identification should take place in the wavelength of the soldier's thermal devices (e.g., thermal beacon). Secondly, the beacon and weapon sight should allow friendly identification (e.g., coding). Another (complimentary) solution could be the display in augmented reality of the friendly forces from a Battlefield Management System. However, it is expected that the adversary also owns thermal devices; thus, you should use thermal beacons with restraint!
In conclusion, as a peer-to-peer conflict is more probable, and the potential adversary also has night vision capability at his disposal, the use of active infrared light sources becomes more and more of a liability. You need to analyze and understand the pros and cons of each night combat system, decide the way you want to go, and conceptualize your ideas and your needs accordingly!
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