United States of America

This page details all information about night vision specific to the U.S.A..

Image Intensifiers

The U.S. military has an ongoing line of procurement contracts for image intensifiers called Omnibus (or Omni for short).

Devices

Over the decades, the U.S. military has issued many different night vision devices for different roles.

Night vision devices are designated by the prefix AN/PVS (which translates to Army/Navy Portable Visual Search) followed by a dash and a number.

A list of the most noteworthy devices includes:

• AN/PVS-5
• AN/PVS-7
• AN/PVS-14
• AN/PVS-15
• AN/PVS-18
• AN/PVS-21
• AN/PVS-23
• AN/PVS-24
• AN/PVS-27
• AN/PVS-31

Export

The export of night vision equipment is controlled in accordance with the International Traffic in Arms (ITAR) regime, which is defined in Title 22 in the Code of Federal Regulations Part 120-130.

ITAR defines the United States Munitions List (USML) of controlled items grouped by category.

Among others, category XII contains devices and weapon sights using image intensifiers with a sensitivity over 350 μA/lm and Gen. 3 image intensifiers (or later).

Exporting ITAR controlled equipment & information without a license is a punishable crime.

Note:

• Restricted devices and image intensifiers still regulary find their way into the international market by:
  • rare occurences of companies exporting legally
  • U.S. military bases in other countries selling off surplus & damaged equipment
  • illegal smuggling
• In most countries, trading and owning ITAR controlled equipment is completely legal.
• Equipment imported to the U.S. might not be able to be exported again if it falls under ITAR.
• Allthough theoretically possible, permission to legally export ITAR regulated night vision equipment is generally seen as unobtainable.
• It seems like exceptions have been made for Gen. 3 image intensifiers with low FOM.