![]() The 1970s brought breakthroughs in thermal imaging, which was improved on through the next several decades. Devices like the small starlight scope were crucial in the Vietnam War, with soldiers often fighting in low-light jungle conditions. By the mid-1960s, scientists had created what’s now referred to as the “first generation” of passive night vision devices, which didn't need an infrared illuminator to function. Throughout the 1940s and 50s, the Army worked with the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) to develop the technology further. These “generation zero” technologies amplified existing light about 1,000 times, but were bulky and cumbersome, necessitating infrared searchlights so big they needed to be mounted on flatbed trucks, making them easy targets for the enemy. The history of night vision devices goes back to just before World War II, when Germany developed primitive infrared devices, and the Allies followed suit. It’s hard to imagine the military without night vision technology, those goggles and scopes that make the blackest landscapes jump to life.
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