French forces have received the first 300 Thales night vision goggles ordered by the French defence procurement agency (DGA) in 2020 as part of the Bi-NYX contract.
The 300 goggles delivered to the DGA are the first batch of an order for 2,000 sets placed in December 2023. The remaining 1,700 will ship by the end of this year.
The Bi-NYX binocular goggle is optimised for vehicle driving and will complement the 12,960 O-NYX binocular night vision goggles already in service with French Army regiments for dismounted soldiers.
Bi-NYX goggles build on the Nellie solution unveiled in June 2020, which incorporates the latest optical and light-intensification technologies to provide high-resolution stereoscopic vision with an extra-wide field of view (47°) in an ultra-lightweight package (<460 g).
Bi-NYX is a binocular (two eyepieces/two lenses) night vision solution providing the true stereoscopic vision needed by specialist frontline sections and vehicle drivers, in particular, to operate at night and in difficult terrain. The new product complements the O-NYX night vision goggles (two eyepieces/one lenses), build on the Minie solution,for dismounted soldiers already in service with the French forces.
Bi-NYX is the result of a self-funded development project conducted by Thales at its Saint-Héand site, which has the manufacturing and supply chain capacity to produce more than 250 units a month.
Benoit Plantier, Vice President, Optronics, Missile Electronics and Unmanned Air Systems, Thales: "Today we are delighted to be making the first official delivery of our Bi-NYX night vision goggles ordered for the French Army. Once again, we thank the French Army and the French defence procurement agency for their confidence in the night vision systems designed and manufactured by Thales with the support of our partners. We are firmly convinced of the operational benefits of Bi-NYX goggles in night combat situations."
