The New Zealand Defence Force’s (NZDF’s) Night Vision Equipment (NVE) program is delivering a range of new systems over the next 18 months that will improve the NZ Army’s ability to conduct operations and fight at night.
The NVE project plans to address night vision capability shortfalls by providing equipment that will give NZDF personnel overmatch against adversaries and work seamlessly with partners, in particular the Australian Defence Force (ADF).
Analese Faingaa, the NVE program lead told ADM that military night operation capability gaps are constantly changing due to the continuous and rapid technological advancements in night vision equipment.
The NVE program runs continuously with funding across several years. Faingaa said total NVE project spending from November 2018 through to April 2024 is NZ$88.6 million.
New Dismounted Close Combatant equipment is the priority and a contract for Kestrel Dual Night Vision Goggles (NVGs) was signed in June 2022. Since 1Q 2024 the NZ Army has been transitioning to Kestrel, which is replacing the existing monocular Mini N/SEAS system, which entered service in 2008. Kestrel has a hight Figure of Merit (FOM) than the Mini N/SEAS giving the former improved visibility in the near infrared (NIR) spectrum.
Supplied by Excelitas Technologies, Kestrel has also been adopted by the British Army. The replacement of monocular NVGs with dual NVGs reflects a growing trend in armies across the world.
“Dual NVGs will significantly improve an individual’s depth perception by night; for most tactical situations, two eyes are better than one,” Faingaa said, “This is an important factor for those operating vehicles by night – whether that be by land, sea or air - or for those conducting dismounted close combat by night.”
Kestrel is being delivered to lead combat elements in the NZ Army. But from 2Q 2025 these units will transition to the Binocular Night Vision Device – Fused (BNVD-F) a dual NVG that has a high FOM and an additional thermal channel. Meanwhile Kestrel will be distributed to the wider NZ Army units.
“A contract for supply and support of the BNVD-F was signed in September 2023,” Faingaa said. She added that deliveries won’t take place until 2Q 2025 due to high demand for military NVE solutions and ongoing global supply chain challenges, which increases lead times.”
The BNVD-F is supplied by L-3 Harris and has already been delivered to the Australian Army under its Land 53 Phase 1BR Night Fighting Equipment Replacement program, replacing its earlier Ninox NVGs.
“Australia is New Zealand’s closest partner and only ally, and furthermore - in accordance with Plan Anzac 2023 - the NZ Army has prioritised interoperability between respective New Zealand/Australia army force elements,” Faingaa said.
“This was a key consideration when selecting the same fused NVG used by the ADF for New Zealand combat force elements,” she added.
Furthermore, under the NVE’s In Line Weapon Sight – Short Range Project, Excelitas is also delivering new Dragon C12-XR uncooled thermal weapons sights for the NZ Army’s MARS-L rifle. Dragon was selected following a market evaluation and was selected because of its detection capabilities, ease of use and ability to be employed on a wide variety of weapons.
“Commercial off-the-shelf thermal devices “are popular with - and regularly used by - militant groups around the world.” Faingaa said when explaining why new in-line night vision sights are needed. “This has created challenges for many militaries worldwide when it comes to planning and conducting combat operations by day and night.”
“By upgrading the sights on MARS-L we give NZDF personnel a greater ability to observe threats before they are observed themselves,” she added.
Dragon has a clip-on configuration and can be used with the Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight (ACOG) as part of the MARS-L weapon system. It can also be used as a standalone thermal sight with built-in digital reticles that are customised to NZDF ammunition natures for the MARS-L, LSW 7.62 and Mag 58 machine gun.
Dragon will be released for wider distribution across the NZ Army from June and used in unit training exercises by the end of 2024.