After numerous delays over a period of ten years, the U.S. Army has finally put 3rd Gen FLIR onto a path where it will become reality. Awards have been made for the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) for the 3rd Gen B-kit which will be used to upgrade 2nd Gen B-kits in a number of vehicle sighting systems and in targeting systems. The 3rd Gen B-kit consists of a Dewar Cooler Bench (DCB), afocal imager and circuit card assemblies.
5N Plus Semiconductors (St. George, Utah) has developed an improved method of growing InSb boules that enables the efficient production of high quality InSb wafers and holds out the promise for higher yield InSb FPAs at lower cost.