QBZ-191 service rifle family

Tomboy

Captain
Registered Member
Is China still behind on NVG tubes? Last I read China was still struggling to mass produce Gen 3 tubes while western leaders like L3Harris are moving on the Gen 3+ already.
 

desapressado

Just Hatched
Registered Member
Is China still behind on NVG tubes? Last I read China was still struggling to mass produce Gen 3 tubes while western leaders like L3Harris are moving on the Gen 3+ already.
In Gen 3, yes. That said, current Gen 2+ platforms are not far behind Western Gen 3 for the majority of use cases.
Thermal imaging should be considered separately. Western thermals are not uniquely ahead, and Chinese manufacturers have reached near-parity in capability, particularly in thermal fusion technologies, as demonstrated by the use of InfiRay thermals by the U.S. Coast Guard.
 

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zlixOS

Junior Member
Registered Member
In Gen 3, yes. That said, current Gen 2+ platforms are not far behind Western Gen 3 for the majority of use cases.
Thermal imaging should be considered separately. Western thermals are not uniquely ahead, and Chinese manufacturers have reached near-parity in capability, particularly in thermal fusion technologies, as demonstrated by the use of InfiRay thermals by the U.S. Coast Guard.
There's a point of diminishing returns with analogue night vision, which I believe was largely achieved with gen 2+ NVGs. The actually scalable platforms, those being thermal and digital vision, are where the gap between US and Chinese companies is extremely close, with some areas like thermals one could say China is ahead.

Analogue is not scalable, but thermals and digitals are.
 

qwerty3173

Junior Member
Registered Member
Using analogue tubes locks you forever into a monocolor vision which human eyes are just not very good at. Digital equipment are still improving fast and can already combine different wavelengths to achieve a bicolor result, allowing much better target discernment and allows long-term use without causing minor but extremely annoying physical and mental problems.
 

zlixOS

Junior Member
Registered Member
Using analogue tubes locks you forever into a monocolor vision which human eyes are just not very good at. Digital equipment are still improving fast and can already combine different wavelengths to achieve a bicolor result, allowing much better target discernment and allows long-term use without causing minor but extremely annoying physical and mental problems.
That's just wrong, the colour argument is mostly negligible, and is only applicable to situations where one might need to differentiate between IR and white light. As for long term use, analogues are and definitely will be better into the future do to them providing depth perception in a way that digitals don't. Analogues are like looking through a blue piece of glass, while digitals are still like looking through the screen of a camera.

The reason I say that digitals are scalable is because they are only going to get better with advancements in camera tech, computing, and battery tech, and their miniaturization. They're also easier to integrate with thermals as well as HUDs, maybe ATAKs or the sort. As long as analogues are still limited to image intensifier tubes, I don't really foresee any more breakthroughs.
 

ohan_qwe

Junior Member
That's just wrong, the colour argument is mostly negligible, and is only applicable to situations where one might need to differentiate between IR and white light. As for long term use, analogues are and definitely will be better into the future do to them providing depth perception in a way that digitals don't. Analogues are like looking through a blue piece of glass, while digitals are still like looking through the screen of a camera.

The reason I say that digitals are scalable is because they are only going to get better with advancements in camera tech, computing, and battery tech, and their miniaturization. They're also easier to integrate with thermals as well as HUDs, maybe ATAKs or the sort. As long as analogues are still limited to image intensifier tubes, I don't really foresee any more breakthroughs.
Why wouldn't digital support depth perception just like VR headsets. It's just about calibrating everything correctly.
 

votran

Junior Member
Registered Member
The problem is no military should need a war to put optics on their rifles and plates in their plate carriers
military that pay their soldiers peanut often don't want equip their troops with expensive optic and NVG because the moment they do those troops gonna steal and sell those expensive optic and nvg to improve their livelihood in mass

just look at russia

PLA have milions of troop and payment for troops aren't that great so i think that one of the key reason why you still see PLA troops training with iron sight , no NVG and not even bullet res plates in the carriers
 
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