Army asks Teledyne FLIR to provide thermal weapon sights for use in night vision and degraded visibility
ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. – U.S. Army night vision experts needed clip-on weapon sights for a variety of nighttime, low-light, and obscured tactical applications. They found their solution from Teledyne FLIR LLC in North Billerica, Mass.
Officials of the Army Contracting Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., announced a $15 million contract to Teledyne FLIR on Monday for clip-on thermal weapon sights.
These kinds of weapon sights help soldiers fight at night and low-light conditions by enabling them to pont their weapons accurately based on the target's thermal signatures.
Teledyne FLIR designs and manufactures at least four different clip-on thermal weapon sights for night vision warfare : the MilSight S135 Magnum Universal Night Sight (MUNS); MilSight T105 UNS Universal Night Sight; ThermoSight HISS-XLR; and the ThermoSight T75.
Related: N2 Imaging Systems to build Army's first clip-on thermal weapon sight designed for snipers
The MilSight S135 is a high-resolution clip-on night-vision weapon sight that mounts on the MIL-STD-1913 Picatinny rail interface forward of an existing scope, adding night-vision capabilities to daytime target acquisition systems.
The sight enables snipers to detect and recognize man-size targets at ranges in excess of 800 meters. Developed for the U.S. Marine Corps and adopted by U.S. and NATO forces, S135 MUNS is compatible with several weapons systems up to and including .50 caliber.
The MilSight T105 universal night sight enables tactical engagements out to 600 meters, and mounts in front of a boresighted day optic to adapt standard-issue weapons for night operations on weapons up to and including .50 caliber. It offers up to 12x magnification, and can mount with a spotting scope for long-range reconnaissance or as a handheld observation device.
The Milsight HISS-XLR clip-on thermal weapon sight enables snipers to detect and recognize man-size targets in excess of 2,000 meters, and mounts on MIL-STD-1913 rail interface forward of existing scopes. It can interface with day scopes, and offers long-range optics with HD displays.
The ThermoSight T75 long-range thermal weapon sight mounts on the MIL-STD-1913 rail interface forward of an existing scope, and also can function as a hand-held observation device. It runs on AA lithium batteries and comes with large rugged controls for image adjustment.
On this contract Teledyne FLIR will do the work in North Billerica, Mass., and should be finished by January 2025. For more information contact Teledyne FLIR online at www.flir.com.
John Keller | Editor-in-Chief
John Keller is the Editor-in-Chief, Military & Aerospace Electronics Magazine--provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronics and optoelectronic technologies in military, space and commercial aviation applications. John has been a member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since 1989 and chief editor since 1995.
