Soldier Systems

Our staff conceived and developed SIPE, the first Soldier System.
Manufactured in pilot quantity for platoon field testing, SIPE completely altered the Army's view of
the role of the soldier in combat and generated the Army's $986 Million Land Warrior program.

This 1265-line integrated video eyewear helmet system combines imagery from the soldier-integrated
computer, radio, GPS, and video IR weapon sight.

Network-centric warfare:
This single system development of SIPE quickly shifted the concept of the individual
soldier as a mobile gun platform to becoming a node within a larger troop network.
Today the platoon is emerging as a single organism linked by shared day/night
vision, hearing, and real-time computer linkage.
Today military programs worldwide are moving rapidly to exploit the SIPE concept for
the future infantry combat mission, including
US:            Land Warrior, Future Force Warrior
Germany:  Infanterist der Zukunft
Italy:         Soldato Futuro
France:      FELIN

 

STAR - Selective Target-Acuated Rifle

Vietnam: 200,000 small-arms bullets per enemy casualty.
$40,000 to buy, and 2 tons carried to the front line.

With this patented technology, the soldier never misses his target.
The low-cost STAR system monitors the target's trajectory and the
swing of the rifle, and automatically fires the weapon at the instant
when the bullet will pass through the remote target.

Instead of blazing away at the jungle in hopes of hitting or maybe
frightening the enemy, the STAR soldier just squeezes and sweeps.
When a hit is possible the weapon fires... and somebody falls down.
Automatically, up to 650 casualties/minute with an M-16.
For a raw recruit: one shot, one kill, out to 300 meters.

 

Night Vision

Our staff was responsible for
designing and production engineering
of over a hundred thousand night vision sights and goggles.


18 mm 3-stage image intensifier
36,000 gain
70mm F/1 catadioptric lens
3X magnification
20,000 manufactured by Raytheon

These included:
. AN/PVS-3: the first miniaturized night vision sight
. AN/PVS-5: the first manufacturable night vision goggle (NVG)
. AN/PVS-7A: second generation, lightweight NVG


First generation night vision goggles
1.8 pounds; binocular
1X magnification
36° FOV
F/1.3 refractive optics
25,000 gain
160,000 manufactured at Raytheon, later VARO

Second generation night vision goggles
Biocular for lighter weight
0.8 pounds
1X magnification
40° FOV
F/1.1 refractive optics
35,000 gain
100,000 manufactured at S-TRON
Related Links
      Thermal IR Camera
      THz Imager Camera