Army’s new night vision, ENVG III, allows troops to accurately shoot from the hip

New night vision technology will soon have U.S. troops accurately shooting from the hip.

The U.S. Army’s new Enhanced Night Vision Goggle III (ENVG III), which is worn on the helmet like traditional devices, works in tandem with the Family of Weapon Sights — Individual (FWS-I), which can be hooked up to a variety of weapons. A wireless signal sent from the FWS-I while on a weapon’s sight post allows personnel to accurately fire from behind cover or concealment.

The ENVG III can be used with “the M4 carbine, M16A4 rifle, M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, M136 AT4 rifle, or M141 Bunker Defeat Munition,” said Col. Michael Sloane, project manager for Soldier Sensors and Lasers, the Army reported July 22.

Col. Sloane, who oversees the project from Fort Belvoir, Virginia, said that the technology may soon be applied to other weapons, including the M240 and M2 machine guns, and the MK19 grenade launcher.

The U.S. Army reported that the ENVG III and the FWS-I have undergone “rigorous scrutiny” at multiple installations. U.S. soldiers have also provided feedback along the way.

BAE Systems and DRS Technologies have been awarded contracts to provide the U.S. military with the new technology beginning this summer. The long term-plan is to have 18 soldiers per platoon with the FWS-I and 24 soldier per platoon with ENVG IIIs, the Army reported.