U. S. Air Force awards $3.3 million contract for tactical lighting
The commitment is for 80 BrightEye and 60 WatchDog visible and covert portable illumination systems, including spares and maintenance supplies.
The 2008 Department of Defense Appropriations legislation contains $8.0 million for the equipping of the USAF with Cyberlux portable illumination systems. As part of the appropriations, the USAF Air Mobility Command first will fulfill the requirements of the Operations, Installation and Mission Support commands for the BrightEye and WatchDog systems. The remaining $4.6 million will be allocated within the Air Mobility Command and other USAF commands during the remaining fiscal year 2008.
According to Cyberlux, the portable illumination systems will provide the U.S. Armed Services with next-generation tactical lighting capability and transition the services, the National Guard and the Department of Homeland Security organizations from incandescent-based lighting to solid-state lighting.
The BrightEye system provides portable, visible white-light and night-vision-compatible illumination for general mission tactical lighting, force protection, maintenance lighting, expeditionary base protection, disaster first responders and other rapidly deployable, high-intensity lighting applications. Using advanced optics, advanced solid-state lighting technology and lightweight battery power, all contained in a transportable wheeled case, the BrightEye system is capable of eliminating the space-consuming bulk, noise and energy consumption of generator-powered incandescent lighting systems.
According to the USAF Expeditionary Center Air Mobility Battlelab (AMB), the BrightEye System weighs 94 percent less than their current diesel-powered incandescent lighting systems, saves an estimated 63 percent in daily operating costs and is 97 percent smaller in footprint.
WatchDog meets USAF Air Mobility Command requirements for a lightweight, portable covert lighting system that provides both visible lighting and infrared NVG-compatible lighting. WatchDog, which weighs less than 50 pounds including batteries, is a perimeter lighting solution for the protection of landed aircraft assets and attendant personnel. It provides security lighting for an exterior boundary of 600 feet by 600 feet with either visible light or covert night-vision-goggle (NVG)-compatible infrared light.
Watchdog protects military assets on the ground, such as a C-130 transport aircraft, by creating a “lightless” zone around the asset while illuminating the surrounding protection boundary. In covert illumination mode, the system increases the visibility of NVGs by almost sixfold. The LED system deploys quickly to remote locations and provides lighting for several days on a single battery charge.