Solar Energy News  
See Acquire And Target For Destruction

a.k.a. 'veni, vidi, vici'
by Debi Dawson
Washington (SPX) Jul 18, 2007
Armed with the latest in image intensification and other target acquisition technology, American Soldiers have an edge in missions at night or in other low visibility situations. Lt Col Jim Smith, who oversees the US Army's program that provides sensors and lasers, says that his products help soldiers to "see always, acquire first, and target once", adding that American Soldiers "own the night". Smith is the Product Manager for sensors and lasers, which is part of Program Executive Office (PEO) Soldier. PEO Soldier designs, develops, buys, delivers and sustains virtually everything the American Soldier wears or carries.

PEO Soldier's sensors and lasers include helmet-mounted night vision devices that provide improved situational awareness in all conditions; thermal weapon sights that provide enhanced abilities to acquire targets in degraded visibility; and aiming lights and other devices that accurately locate targets.

Smith says these tools "enhance a Soldier's ability to acquire, pick out those objects of interest within that battle space and identify those [objects]".

The AN/PVS-14 Monocular Night Vision Device (MNVD) is a helmet-mounted device used by the Soldier to amplify ambient light. The system is designed for use in conjunction with rifle-mounted aiming lights. The lightweight (14 ounces) monocular design provides operational flexibility to leaders, allowing retention of optimized night vision in one eye. The AN/PVS-14 can also be mounted to the M16/M4 receiver rail.

The AN/PVS-10 Sniper Night Sight (SNS) enables the soldier to accurately acquire and engage targets using the M24 Sniper Weapon System at night to a range of 600 meters and during daylight to a range of 800 meters. SNS is a light-weight, weapon-mounted, image-intensified passive device designed primarily for use by the sniper in day and night operations. A day/night lever enables the user to alternate between day and night modes of operation. It includes a black line reticle for day use that is illuminated for night use when required.

Multi-functional Aiming Lights (MFAL) such as the ANPEQ-2A, ATPIAL, and DBAL-A2 are used in conjunction with night vision goggles to engage targets in low light conditions. When zeroed to the weapon, these device provide an invisible continuous infrared beam along the weapon's line of fire. A visible, red dot aiming laser can also be selected to provide accurate aiming of a weapon during daylight or night operations.

The AN/PAS-13 Thermal Weapon Sight (TWS) family enables individual and crew served weapon gunners to see deep into the battlefield, increase surveillance and target acquisition range and penetrate obscurants, day or night. The TWS uses forward-looking infrared (FLIR) technology and provides a standard video output.

PEO Soldier always strives to improve current technologies and is never satisfied with the status quo. Program Executive Office Soldier Brigadier General R Mark Brown says that PEO Soldier is "constantly looking for the next best thing - whether it's a technological advance or a relatively minor gear or clothing adjustment that will protect Soldiers, save their lives, or just make their mission a little easier and more comfortable".

Related Links
The latest in Military Technology for the 21st century at SpaceWar.com



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Air Force Uses New Technology In Cleanup
San Antonio (AFNS) Jul 18, 2007
Air Force officials plan to use an innovative technology to clean up contamination at a former plating shop at the former Kelly Air Force Base in Texas. Speeding up the cleanup process at former bases fulfills an Air Force-wide goal of accelerated environmental resolution, and allows Air Force officials to more quickly turn over ownership of the former base to the Port Authority of San Antonio for redevelopment.







  • Japan Quake Sparks New Fears Over Atomic Energy
  • Japan Quake Triggered Dozens Of Faults At Nuclear Plant
  • Russia Will Build Floating Nuclear Power Plants
  • Leak At Japanese Nuclear Plant After Quake

  • New Study Suggests Climate Change Could Be The Root Of Armed Conflicts
  • Western US States Swelter Under Record Heatwave
  • The Challenge Of Desertification
  • Australian Drought Turns To Flood As California Dries Out

  • Organic Farming Can Feed the World
  • Simulated Crop Provides Answer To Irrigation Issues
  • Russia Seeks Nine Billion Dollars WTO Farm Subsidies
  • Emission Choices Lead To Starkly Different Futures For Northeast Agriculture

  • Mushroom Secrets Could Combat Carbon, Enable Better Biofuels And Clean Soil
  • Bush administration accused of putting ideology above science
  • Trophy Hunting Buoyant Industry For Namibia
  • Patenting Mother Nature

  • Ares Team Validates Manufacturing Processes For Common Bulkhead Demonstration
  • NASA Awards Upper Stage Engine Contract For Ares Rockets
  • ATV Starts Journey To Kourou
  • Boeing To Bid For Ares I Instrument Unit Avionics Contract



  • NASA Awards Contract For Land-Imaging Instrument
  • GOP House Science Committee To Evaluate NASA Earth Science Budget
  • Subcommittee Continues Look At Status of NASA Earth Science Programs
  • QuikSCAT Marks Eight Years On-Orbit Watching Planet Earth

  • BAE Systems To Produce Field Programmable Gate Array For Space Use
  • Researchers Develop Tool For Clearer Ultrasound Images
  • Speeding Up CT Scans By Using Telecommunications Tricks
  • Ball Aerospace Deep Impact Spacecraft Chosen For NASA EPOXI Mission

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright Space.TV Corporation. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space.TV Corp on any Web page published or hosted by Space.TV Corp. Privacy Statement