NIGHT VISION DEVICES
This lesson will familiarize you with the different types of night vision devices.
To know night vision device (NVD) employment and utilization.
Given mission briefing, battle area operation overlay, and 1:50,000 area of operations
To satisfy the collection effort.
Operator's Manual for Night Vision Sight, AN/TVS-5, December,
Operator's, Organizational, and Direct Support Maintenance
Manual, Night Vision Sight, AN/TVS-4 and AN/TVS-4A,
Operator's Manual for Night Vision Goggles, AN/PVS-5 and
AN/PVS-5A, October, 1981.
An MI battalion has three night vision devices (NVDs) organic to its I&S company. They are the AN/TVS-5,
AN/PVS-5, and AN/PVS-4. NVDs are systems which make visual observations possible during hours of darkness
or limited visibility. In general, NVDs fall in two categories: light intensification and IR devices.
Light intensification devices are generally called NODs. These devices are termed passive because they do not
project energy. NODs amplify moonglow, starlight, and even faint skyglow up to 40,000 times to produce an
image. In absolute blackness, NODs are ineffective but can be assisted by using flares, searchlights, and laser
illumination. They are adversely affected by fog, smog, smoke, heavy rain, and snow.
IR devices are passive or active. One common device is the sniperscope. It was developed during World War II
and has led to a number of more sophisticated devices. In general, passive IR devices have replaced