By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization
The US Army and Special Operations community have in recent years made quantum leaps in the area of sniper, rifle and machine gun range and targeting precision, by connecting thermal sights to night vision, increasing image fidelity and even integrating bullet technologies to improve flight trajectory and lethality. The Army has also worked on efforts to connect weapons sites wirelessly to soldier night vision guidance to enable soldiers to target, shoot and kill without needing to “shoulder” the weapon.
Now, some industry innovators are taking a new step forward with a unique weapon’s sights technology called ThermoSight HISS-HD engineered to massively improve precision, survivability, range and number of rounds on target using an unprecedented high-definition thermal processor which enables the shooter to actually “see” the heat signature of bullets in flight. Rounds viewed through the ThermoSight HISS-HD are not visible to the naked eye but generate a detectable signature through the sight.
“The sight is so sensitive, it allows you to see your bullet, so you can watch your bullets fly at the target. So This is particularly important for snipers and machine gunners who may not be immediately on target on these long-distances on their first shot. They can do quick corrections,” Zach Fuller, Senior Manager for Weapons Sights, Teledyne FLIR, told Warrior in an interview. “The cooled sensor gives you a much higher sensitivity. In fact, it’s so sensitive You can see your bullet in flight en route to the target. You can watch the entire arc and watch your impacts.”
The ability to track the trajectory and impact of small rounds without needing “tracer rounds,” means rounds in flight attack with more volume and accuracy, as multiple sights can identify a key target quickly from multiple angles.
“in the case of a machine going to walk their rounds on to the target. In the case of a sniper, do a quick follow-up shot and get that second round,” Fuller explained.
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A Teledyne-FLIR essay further specifies that the thermal sensitivity is achieved with a Mid-Wave Imager featuring a High Definition and High Operating Temperature “cyro-cooled Focal Plane, providing a fixed 4-degree field-of-view with motorized focus.
The Sight has thus far been tested on a Sig Sauer .338N Machine Guns and Sniper rifles and .50-cal weapons as well.
The ThermoSight HISS-HD can identify humans out to 2,200 meters in any conditions, without needing to give away or endanger firing position by using a visible tracer. Developed through independent internal research, the ThermoSight HISS-HD represents Teledyne FLIR’s effort to anticipate Army requirements and address an existing targeting challenge or “deficit.”
“They realized that the military didn’t have an optic that could see that far at night, At night time you don’t want to shine a light and read where your turrets are, and it’s impractical to count how many times the thing clicks when you’re dialing a long distance. So one of the features this site has that is really big for the users is you can actually dial the site itself. So using a remote pendant or using the dial in the back of the site, I can actually put the site in elevation mode, and I can add elevation right there on the optic,” Fuller said.
A Teledyne-FLIR essay on the HISS-HD says the sight interfaces with standard ballistic computing devices and laser range-finders and can operate with an optional remote control pendant.
The integration of a sight such as this might introduce new Concepts of Operation, as it will enable multiple sniper or machine gun angles and positions to pinpoint targets across a larger envelope with greater speed, lethality and precision. This allows dismounted units to maneuver into more dispersed formations while maintaining lethality and increasing fires upon a single target from multiple positions. Perhaps most of all, the ability to “guide” and “follow” with rounds without a tracer introduces a new “stealthy” ability to attack without compromising an attack location. Perhaps over time, should the Army acquire this technology, .50-Cal machine guns mounted on vehicles could leverage this technology as well, enabling longer-range precision small-to-medium-arms fire while on the move in combat.
Kris Osborn is the President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization and Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
