Germany and Belgium have launched the night vision capability (NVC) program with the formal establishment of an office as part of OCCAR (Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation) intergovernmental organization.
Established on May 4, the program will oversee the development, production and optional in-service phases of night vision goggles. The OCCAR office will be composed of three staff from Belgium and Germany, led by Geert Vanlinthout.
A “possible future purchase” call was announced on the OCCAR site on August 30, 2019, calling on all companies interested in the project to register by December 2019. A contract award is expected to be announced by mid-2021.
According to a previous contract notice, the devices to be procured should be “commercial-off-the-shelf” technology products. The system is to have a compact design (maximum 135 mm x 130 mm x 100 mm (L x W x H) when folded) and a maximum weight of 500 g.
A total of 9,000 devices are expected to be ordered in the initial contract, with options for additional deliveries.
