Boson Systems - analogue night vision you configure and service yourself

Analogue image intensification is the standard in helmet-mounted military night vision, and there is a reason for that. The tube converts faint light into electrons, multiplies them and sends them back as a continuous image. There is no display to refresh, and therefore no lag between head movement and what you see. No boot time, no menu, no firmware to get wrong.

Boson Systems builds on that standard and makes the rest modular. The Proton Lite is binocular, machined from 7075-T6 aluminium with Type III hardcoat anodising, and each optical pod is sealed and nitrogen-purged separately. 545 grams to carry through the night. A single CR123A gives 25 hours of operation at room temperature, more than a full day without a battery change. Field of view is 40 degrees. The monocular Proton Lite-O weighs 270 grams and runs 40 hours on the same battery.

The whole unit strips down with a screwdriver. If a pod takes damage, the user replaces it. The goggle does not go to a workshop. Image intensifier tubes are sold separately, so you choose a tube for the task instead of buying a fixed package. Photonis tubes from France can be specified.

IP68 with submersion to 20 metres for up to two hours, and the platform is certified to MIL-STD-810H. The platform includes Electron X, which accepts external power sources between 5 and 30 volts, and Eliminator, which replaces the battery cap and switch assembly with a Fischer 4-pin connector.

Boson Systems is French, based in La Courneuve north of Paris. Benjamin Alardin is at TacDane's stand U 2324 and answers the technical questions himself.