Hit the Target

At night is like by day. How to make an eye sharper? “Novosibirsk Instrument-Making Plant” presented new high-precision optical equipment. Presentation of new devices was dated for 105 years anniversary of the enterprise... “NPZ” have been providing Russian Army with observation devices and all kinds of sights for more than one hundred years. The enterprise dates back to 1905 when development optical-mechanical workshops of German companies Zeiss and Hertz were founded in Riga. Since then the plant has repeatedly changed its location due to the dramatic historical events in Russia. In 1941 it removed for the last time – to Novosibirsk.

According to Director General of “NPZ” Yuriy Metelskiy nowadays the plant pays much attention not only to military but also to civil products. These are measuring devices for industrial enterprises, astronomical equipment, sights and observation devices for hunters and security services. Almost a quarter of manufactured goods are exported.

Even during the hard for our country crisis period the plant didn’t stop in its development. For the last 2 years specialists of the enterprise have arranged production of ten quite new items of high-precision optics, which doesn’t yield to the best foreign analogs in technical characteristics.

For the followers of traditional daylight hunting PO1-5x24 sight with variable zoom from 1x to 5x was developed. Such type of sights became standard for foreign manufacturers, the plant will make this product more reasonable in price for Russian hunters. There are also other new sights – sight “Kashtan” with magnification 2.8 and collimator sight PK intended for fast aiming.

Now “NPZ” also offers new night sights and night vision devices. For example, one of them – television hunting sight which can be used by day as well as at night. His operation is based on television matrix receiving an image. There is also provided a function of digital magnification of “a picture”, changing of its contrast and colour, in the sight.

Another new device is a compact night vision monocular PN21K. Its weight is just 300 g, it is very convenient to hold in a hand and allows to see at night for 200-300 m. Such device will be important aid in any security company and for night hunting. Especially because design of the monocular allows its mounting on weapon and using together with a daylight sight. Changing of the operational mode takes not more than a minute. This way of supply with night vision equipment is chosen by different special services including Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs.

New popular development is a night sight PN23. As the first deputy chief engineer of “NPZ” Alexandr Deysner notices, the sight is characterized by light weight (680 g) and compact dimensions and at the same time it provides aimed fire at the distance of 400 m under starlit night conditions. The sight has removable brackets for mounting on different types of weapon. There are Image Intensifier Tubes (IIT) of 2+ and 3 generation mounted in night vision devices. Such IITs provide more qualitative image in the field of view, they automatically adapt to the brightness level. The next logical step in direction of development of night vision devices is a new IIT with wide operational range of illumination conditions. This IIT won’t be damaged by occasional bright flashes in the field of view, fire of bonfires, vehicle’s headlights etc.

- One of the latest our achievements is sight PN6K-4,- Alexandr Deysner says, the last technical developments of night vision are used in it. The sight has IIT with so-called impulse power supply, which provides the sight operation even in the daylight conditions.

Another way to make the sight operable at night as well as by day is realized in the model PDN22. Its creators united daylight and night sight into the single device and also provided for infrared illumination which allows seeing in the complete darkness.

However, as we were assured at the plant, “NPZ” won’t limit developing its production by these directions only. Another perspective direction for the plant to develop is thermal imaging sights, which allow to see what inaccessible even for the best night vision devices. But this is a separate theme.

Mikhail Lykosov “Molodost’ Sibiri”

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