(Article courtesy of Tactical Life)

I love a good science-fiction movie, and Hollywood has brought us some great ones. Gifted writers unconstrained by the physics of the real world work alongside filmmaking artisans to portray fanciful capabilities driven solely by the creative capacity of the artists themselves. Future warriors on the silver screen can move, shoot and communicate in ways of which our parents’ generation might only have dreamt. Oddly enough, however, if you follow the tech developments driving modern military sensor technology, the real world is now capable of stuff not even imagined in Hollywood.

Steiner is a respected name in tactical optics. With 67 years’ worth of experience building tactical glass, Steiner’s reputation is both storied and well deserved. Made in the United States with a foundation built upon legendary German optical quality, Steiner optics are rugged, cutting edge and effective. With the recent acquisitions of Diffraction Ltd. and Sensor Technology Systems (STS), Steiner has built a technology base adequate to produce the entire spectrum of state-of-the-art electronic sighting, imaging, information management and “blue force” identification gear to equip the next generation of warfighters. The result is a quantum leap beyond anything you might see in Star Wars.

Owning The Night

In eons past, night was a time for rest, even in a combat zone. Darkness made effective command and control impossible, and the inability to identify friend from foe made most nighttime combat operations impractical. Stand-to was always just before dawn because that was the universally accepted time to attack. For the American military at least, those days are gone, never to return.

Steiner’s night-vision sensors detect radiation of a diverse nature. Infrared, ultraviolet, visible spectrum and low-light images beyond the threshold of the unaided eye are all now within the capabilities of equipment compact and reliable enough to aid individual soldiers. Steiner’s AN/PVS-21 low-profile night-vision goggle (LPNVG) is smaller, lighter and 3 to 4 inches shorter than previous systems and is available in both monocular and binocular versions. This system is designed specifically to provide aggressive special operations capabilities in air, land and water environments. The resolution and sensor fusion built into this device make it capable of terrestrial use over rugged terrain, suitable for applications in high-speed vehicles on the ground, water or air, and effective in the CQB realm as well.

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