Quad tube NVGs are expensive as hell. A single unit costs roughly 40-60 lakhs.
ANVIS-10 can be had for little under 15 lakhs (directly converting to rupees). I'm not positive on this but I'm pretty sure the one from Tonbo can be cheaper than even the ANVIS-10.
Yes, these are still extremely expensive equipment, easily the costliest thing carried by a shooter on his body. But the advantage they grant is also equally great - see the enemy when he can't see you. And in HD quality not to mention.
Is the GOI willing to shell this kind of money??
They ought to - if they understand what SOFs are and how to use them. Unfortunately, they don't. In fact even the senior leadership of Parachute Regiment is very clueless as to the role of modern SOF and continues to treat even the SF battalions of Para Regmt as little more than 'Elite Infantry'.
This was expressed to great dismay by former VCOAS Lt Gen Vijay Oberoi in the foreword of the book "Special Operations Case Studies: Lessons for India" by Lt Gen Prakash Katoch.
As long as this mentality continues, it will be impossible for us to invest any sizable amounts or efforts into Para SFs to enable a true SOF role where the mantra will truly be 'maximum bang, maximum buck'. But because this isn't happening, the development of Para SFs will only happen along the lines of an elite infantry, with only a modicum of equipment that can be said to be superior to that of the regular solider...and in the coming years, it will end up being inferior to that of a regular soldier.
And any improvements sought will remain ad-hoc and small scale as a result of the same mentality.
Lt Gen Oberoi writes about how efforts to fix this error were shot down again & again by senior leadership of Para Regmt who were opposed to any changes. And unless the AFSOD model becomes successful and CDS manages to put the pressure on the three services to cobble their SFs together into a SOCOM at a later date, we are not going to fix these problems ever.
I will be more than happy to see our Para SF and SWAT units with Panaromic NVD.
SFs sure...but right now with exception of NSG & maybe Force One, I don't see any SWAT unit in the country that would even do justice to equipment like this. Majority of them are yet to learn how to wear helmets and balaclava properly.
Also, there is no need to import quad tube NVD as Tonbo imaging has developed one indigenously.
Yep - there is no question of importing Night Vision. It's too expensive a technology to import in large scale and above all, its simply not necessary to import. Tonbo has developed a world class lineup of products domestically. It would be criminal to import...and equally criminal to ignore these bluechips and go for some outdated single-tube crap from BEL.
