Germany

This page details all information about night vision specific to Germany.

Manufacturers

• Harder Digital

Laws

Generally, image intensifiers and thermal devices are completely unregulated and free to trade, own and use.

Export and import from and to non-EU countries falls under the EU dual use regulations.

Firearms

The only exception is found in the German firearm law, as certain firearm-mounted equipment is prohibited by the Waffengesetz § 2.3 & annex 2.

According to annex 2 nr. 1.2.4.2 gun-mounted night vision attachments & sights are prohibited if they include an electronic image converter or an image intensifier.

Note:

• Image converters include infrared and thermal.
• Naturally, attaching regular night vision devices to the gun (e.g. duct taping) is also prohibited.
• Allthough cameras are image converters to an extent they don't seem to strictly fall under this category.
• Recently, hunting became exempt from this rule, with ownership & usage of night vision attachments and sights becoming legal for bearers of a hunting license for the sole purpose of hunting. This change might not have been implemented yet in the laws of the different federal states.

According to annex 2 nr. 1.2.4.1 gun-mounted devices that illuminate the target (e.g. flashlights) or mark the target (e.g. lasers) are prohibited.

Note:

• This includes light in the non-visual spectrum.
• Naturally, attaching regular flashlights or laser pointers to the gun (e.g. duct taping) is also prohibited.
• Allthough universal adapters aren't strictly prohibited, there have been alleged cases where the combination of a universal adapter "next to" a compatible flashlight have been interpreted as illegal attachment.

Military

The German armed forces mostly use Gen. 2 night vision monoculars and binoculars.

German special forces, like the Kommando Spezialkräfte (KSK), have been seen using the American GPNVG-18.