thedrifter
01-16-04, 05:34 AM
Carlsbad company sends best, brightest into battle overseas
High-intensity spotlights can help detect far-off foes
By Rick Rogers
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
CARLSBAD – A small Carlsbad company is literally putting insurgents overseas in the spotlight with a product that will soon be heading to Iraq with local Marines.
Xenonics Inc., a 15-employee operation on Rutherford Road, makes high-intensity spotlights that are already helping safeguard U.S. troops by letting them see terrorists planting a roadside bomb or plotting an ambush from more than a mile away.
When the lights, which range from about 4½ to 10 pounds, are coupled with an infrared filter that makes them virtually invisible to the enemy, individuals can be covertly seen a half-mile away.
At $2,000 to $2,700 each, the spotlights – part of a product line known as NightHunter – are not cheap. But military units in Iraq give them high marks for durability and performance.
"Many operations are conducted at night and require our soldiers to have superior visibility over the local population," Maj. Aaron Metz, logistics officer for the 173rd Airborne Brigade, wrote in a memorandum to buy nearly $400,000 worth of the lights, which are roughly the size of a heavy-duty flashlight.
"The NightHunter spotlight system is the top-of-the-line spotlight system," Metz wrote. "Each infantry battalion will receive 65 of the systems."
His unit is assigned to the Army's 4th Infantry Division, which oversees some of Iraq's most dangerous cities, including Tikrit and Baghdad.
Staff Sgt. Christopher Rogers of the 101st Airborne Division wrote to the company: "Can you imagine what an advantage it is to be able to illuminate the road you are traveling on with the NightHunter in IR (infrared)? We can see things long before they become problems for us, and right now those problems are IED (improvised explosive devices) and ambushes. Thanks for the help."
Such testimonials dot the walls at the Xenonics offices, where the groundbreaking lighting system was designed and production began last year after 18 months of testing.
Unlike other high-intensity spotlights, these have a longer reach, but without the "black hole" – a lack of illumination in the middle of their beams when the light is diffused.
The military bought nearly $7 million worth of the lanterns last year, and Xenonics officials said current orders will keep them busy into 2005. They announced a $1.9 million contract yesterday and said a larger contract with the Army's 18th Corps probably will be disclosed next week.
"Everyone wants to make money," said Alan Magerman, Xenonics chairman and CEO. "But when guys in the field who could live or die because of your product send you letters, it really means something. It's such a great feeling."
Stephen Maddox, vice president for business development, said most military contracts are rush orders to get the spotlights into the hands of troops in Afghanistan and Iraq faster than usual.
When the 1st Marine Division leaves for Iraq later this year, it will be packing Xenonics lights.
"We are going to be sending the NightHunter searchlight with Marine security forces when they go to Iraq so that they can see what is out there," said Capt. Chad Walton, a spokesman for the Marine Corps Systems Command in Quantico, Va.
Neither Walton nor a Camp Pendleton spokeswoman knew how many NightHunter or NightHunter II lights would be carried by the roughly 25,000 San Diego County-based Marines deploying to Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom II.
A Xenonics study concluded that it would cost about $6 million and take about 3,000 of the spotlights to outfit a 20,000-person division. Xenonics officials said they are working with members of Congress to fill any Marine Corps requests.
The U.S. military isn't the only client. So are the Canadian army, the U.S. Border Patrol and the nascent Iraqi police force.
The San Diego police SWAT team also carries the company's spotlights, which have been used in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Kosovo.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20040114-9999_1mi14xenonic.html
Sempers,
Roger
:marine:
High-intensity spotlights can help detect far-off foes
By Rick Rogers
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
CARLSBAD – A small Carlsbad company is literally putting insurgents overseas in the spotlight with a product that will soon be heading to Iraq with local Marines.
Xenonics Inc., a 15-employee operation on Rutherford Road, makes high-intensity spotlights that are already helping safeguard U.S. troops by letting them see terrorists planting a roadside bomb or plotting an ambush from more than a mile away.
When the lights, which range from about 4½ to 10 pounds, are coupled with an infrared filter that makes them virtually invisible to the enemy, individuals can be covertly seen a half-mile away.
At $2,000 to $2,700 each, the spotlights – part of a product line known as NightHunter – are not cheap. But military units in Iraq give them high marks for durability and performance.
"Many operations are conducted at night and require our soldiers to have superior visibility over the local population," Maj. Aaron Metz, logistics officer for the 173rd Airborne Brigade, wrote in a memorandum to buy nearly $400,000 worth of the lights, which are roughly the size of a heavy-duty flashlight.
"The NightHunter spotlight system is the top-of-the-line spotlight system," Metz wrote. "Each infantry battalion will receive 65 of the systems."
His unit is assigned to the Army's 4th Infantry Division, which oversees some of Iraq's most dangerous cities, including Tikrit and Baghdad.
Staff Sgt. Christopher Rogers of the 101st Airborne Division wrote to the company: "Can you imagine what an advantage it is to be able to illuminate the road you are traveling on with the NightHunter in IR (infrared)? We can see things long before they become problems for us, and right now those problems are IED (improvised explosive devices) and ambushes. Thanks for the help."
Such testimonials dot the walls at the Xenonics offices, where the groundbreaking lighting system was designed and production began last year after 18 months of testing.
Unlike other high-intensity spotlights, these have a longer reach, but without the "black hole" – a lack of illumination in the middle of their beams when the light is diffused.
The military bought nearly $7 million worth of the lanterns last year, and Xenonics officials said current orders will keep them busy into 2005. They announced a $1.9 million contract yesterday and said a larger contract with the Army's 18th Corps probably will be disclosed next week.
"Everyone wants to make money," said Alan Magerman, Xenonics chairman and CEO. "But when guys in the field who could live or die because of your product send you letters, it really means something. It's such a great feeling."
Stephen Maddox, vice president for business development, said most military contracts are rush orders to get the spotlights into the hands of troops in Afghanistan and Iraq faster than usual.
When the 1st Marine Division leaves for Iraq later this year, it will be packing Xenonics lights.
"We are going to be sending the NightHunter searchlight with Marine security forces when they go to Iraq so that they can see what is out there," said Capt. Chad Walton, a spokesman for the Marine Corps Systems Command in Quantico, Va.
Neither Walton nor a Camp Pendleton spokeswoman knew how many NightHunter or NightHunter II lights would be carried by the roughly 25,000 San Diego County-based Marines deploying to Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom II.
A Xenonics study concluded that it would cost about $6 million and take about 3,000 of the spotlights to outfit a 20,000-person division. Xenonics officials said they are working with members of Congress to fill any Marine Corps requests.
The U.S. military isn't the only client. So are the Canadian army, the U.S. Border Patrol and the nascent Iraqi police force.
The San Diego police SWAT team also carries the company's spotlights, which have been used in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Kosovo.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20040114-9999_1mi14xenonic.html
Sempers,
Roger
:marine: