Army Plans to Award Millions for Digital Night Vision Technology

With sights set on boosting its members’ situational awareness and decision-making abilities, the Army intends to advance its use of digital night vision technology—or DNVT—and is looking for a contractor to help make that happen.

“In order to keep pace with advancements in technology, the Army must transition to devices comprised of digital sensors, image processing, and displays that are networked through an open standards architecture,” officials wrote in a recent 99-page request for proposals. “[DNVT] enables this transition for mounted, dismounted, and aviation sensor and display systems.”

Earlier this year, the Army detailed how it was trying out training with its new and futuristic “Enhanced Night Vision Goggle-Binocular” technology. But for more than two decades, the Defense Department’s science and technology hub has also researched and invested in digital visible, low-light level, and infrared cameras, as well as image processing and display component technologies and integrated systems for this sort of technology, according to the 99-page request. 

Now, the branch wants to push its work further, and specifically aims to “evolve capabilities through development, integration, experimentation, and laboratory and platform test and evaluation, including, but not limited to, novel sensing modalities, hardware and software development, integration, networking, and operational integration with a variety of ground and aviation systems.”

The aim is to produce future-facing devices that enable wearers to see in the dark. Those devices would be coupled with component technology enhancements, the solicitation confirmed, like reconfigurable full color displays with high resolution and brightness, and image processing hardware and algorithms to enable enhanced augmented reality through an open standards network.

“DNVT provides a solution for maintaining a heads-up security posture by presenting all relevant battlefield and air data to the warfighter on a heads-up display that incorporates improvements and upgrades at a component and system level to provide greatly enhanced resolution, sensitivity/sensing, vision, laser hardening and situational awareness,” officials wrote. “This will allow the warfighter to keep their focus on rapidly developing situations while enhancing decision making.”  

DOD is planning for a single award indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity type contract to underpin this work. 

The selected partner will need to provide support for “the analysis, development, demonstration, testing, acquisition, transition, integration, initial deployment, sustainment, and training” of DNVT and related components, the RFP noted.

The maximum total contract value is worth more than $93 million. Responses are due by Feb. 1.