The Defence Ministry’s Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Machilipatnam unit, is showcasing its state-of-the-art night vision devices including those used in Kargil war. This is the first public exhibition by the BEL in Machilipatnam.
Of the nine units of the BEL across the country, the Machilipatnam unit is engaged in development and production of opto-electronic devices that are meant for Indian defence forces. The devices being displayed for public on the Hindu College grounds here during the ongoing Masula Yuva Mahotsav are Passive Night Goggles, Passive Night Monocular, Passive Night Binocular and others.
“Passive Night Sight for INSAS/LMG guns is a device that can be fixed to the guns to have clear vision of the target location. We are allowing the visitors to operate the devices to understanding the functioning of the six varieties of devices in the exhibition”, BEL, Machilipatnam Assistant Engineer M.D. Khaja told The Hindu. Majority of the Night Vision Devices would function with the help of ‘Image Intensifier Tube that receives power from the ‘Stars’ and amplifies it thousands times more.
Kargil War
Hand Held Thermal Imager (HHTI) of the Machilipatnam BEL was used by the Indian Army during the Kargil war. “The HHTI device supplied to Indian Army has helped a lot in finding precise location and accurate distance of targets during the Kargil war. It can locate accurately an aircraft within 10 km of distance while heavy vehicles can be tracked within four km of distance”, said Mr. Khaja.
The Indian Army installs the HHTI on the watch towers at the strategic locations. Public can see and learn the use of the devices during the Masula Yuva Mahotsav, which will conclude on Thursday evening.