New thermal imaging monocular puts Brazil at the forefront of military technology
The delivery of the pilot batch of the OLHAR Thermal Imaging Monocular to the Brazilian Army represents a milestone for the country’s Defense and Security industrial base.
Produced by OPTO Space & Defense, an AKAER Group company, with 100% national technology, the equipment offers the most advanced microelectronics, precision mechanics and optics to meet the strict operational and technical requirements of the Brazilian Combat System (COBRA).
EYE captures the thermal emission of bodies and can be used to locate people, animals and hot objects even in adverse conditions such as lack of lighting, smoke, dust and fog, as well as camouflage elements. Due to its small size, it can be operated manually or attached to helmets, rifles and machine guns. It also has the option of changing lenses for precision shooting.
“The manufacture of the pilot batch of the OLHAR monocular is an important milestone in the development of thermal imaging equipment in Brazil, showing that both the national industry and the Army’s Science, Technology and Innovation System (SCTIEx) are fully capable of providing the Ground Force with excellent quality Military Systems and Materials,” said the Brazilian Army in an official statement.
The OLHAR project
In July, soldiers from the Army Technology Center (CTEx) received the pilot batch of 21 monocular units, ending the third phase of the project, which began in 2019.
The two previous stages included the manufacture and evaluation of prototypes. According to the Brazilian Army, the testing phase showed that the equipment achieves detection, recognition and identification distances “compatible with the best thermal monoculars on the market”.
The fourth and final stage, which is underway, consists of evaluating the pilot batch.
“The OLHAR monocular allows adjustments to optimize the image according to the characteristics of each environment, offering the Brazilian Army the best visibility conditions in operation,” said Cesar Silva, CEO of the AKAER Group. “For us, it’s a source of pride to be at the forefront of a project of this magnitude,” he added.
History
OLHAR is part of the second generation of monoculars developed by the AKAER Group using 100% Brazilian technology.
It is an evolution of the OLHAR VND-X1, which began to be developed in 2007 for a CTEx development project and was subsidized by Finep (Financier of Studies and Projects), a public company that promotes innovation, science and technology.
In 2019, the equipment evolved to the current version with improvements to various functionalities, becoming lighter, smaller and with improved resolution, among other innovations.