The Army plans to start equipping its first close-combat unit with new binocular-style night-vision devices by late September 2019.
Army equipment officials said recently that the service would begin fielding the first of an initial 10,000 Enhanced Night Vision Goggle B devices by the end of fiscal 2019.
The Marine Corps has also decided to buy 3,100 ENVGBs off the Army contract, Brig. Gen. Anthony Potts, commander of Program Executive Office Soldier, said Tuesday at the 2018 Association of the United States Army's Annual Meeting and Exposition.
The Army announced at the beginning of the year it would fund the effort to give soldiers a new dual-tubed night-vision goggle, offering greater depth perception than the current single-tubed Enhanced Night Vision Goggles and AN/PVS 14s.
The service has not yet selected the first unit to receive the new devices, but officials said it will be a Forces Command infantry or other close-combat unit.
Equipment officials are still working out fielding details, but have decided the ENVGB "will go to everybody in the squad," according to Col. Kurt Thompson, head of Training and Doctrine Command's Capability Manager-Soldier.
It's still unclear what size unit will be equipped first, but the plan is to field the first order of 10,000 ENVGBs over the next three fiscal years, Army officials said.
-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.