For all you operators out there who do a lot of snooping and pooping at night, a Boston-based company has developed a filter for NODs that can make out colors. It won’t look like that 50-inch plasma display hanging in the TOC, but for some, the new enhancements could make a heck of a difference.

Made by Tenebraex Corp., the new night vision goggles use a filter that varies the light intensity of the view through the optic, tricking your brain into seeing objects in different color hues. The Boston Globe reports the new ColorPath scopes will be available this summer, and the company hopes the services will be interested in the new technology for its medical and special operations communities.

With monochrome night vision, "blood is the same color as water," [Tenebraex co-founder Peter] Jones said.

Some medics think a color night-vision goggle will help them treat wounded soldiers faster and better.

"That's what we hope this is going to do," said Jones, "to help people do a better job of assessment and treatment."

If Tenebraex can make the sale to medics, Jones said he hopes that the technology will make its way into other military groups, such as special operations units.

Tenebraex also makes the ARDS system, a honeycomb filter that attaches to the end of optics such as scopes and binoculars. The ARDS protects the viewer from laser dazzlers and light reflection off the scope’s lens, something that can give away a sniper or platoon leader’s position in bright sun.

The ColorPath development is part of a growing trend to update the ANPVS-14 and similar night optics with new bells and whistles that lift the shroud of darkness for U.S. troops – who increasingly use the cover of night for operations. Now companies are in a race to combine image intensification (boosting ambient light) with infrared in a single goggle. Some experimental NVGs overlay the IR image with II picture to cut through dust and foliage.

These new ENVGs have yet to hit the field (at least in the open) but if the manufacturers can fix the weight and image alignment problems, this type of hybrid optic will be the next big thing.

(Gouge: RC)

-- Christian