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Russia has substituted import thermal imaging matrices used, in particular, in the serial production of armored vehicles, military expert Viktor Murakhovsky said on Telegram, referring to the document of the Russian Ministry of Defense “On the procedure for introducing domestically produced thermal imaging cameras into sighting systems of T-72BZM, T-80BVM …” products.
According to him, modern cooled modules for forming a thermal imaging video signal (MFTV) of the near infrared range (3-5 micrometers) with a resolution of 640 x 512 elements based on indium antimonide are produced in Russia. The production of matrices with a resolution of 640 by 480 elements based on amorphous silicon has been launched.
Also in Russia there is a production of MFTV in the far infrared range (in this case – 8-10 micrometers) with matrices with a resolution of 640 x 512 elements based on cadmium-mercury-tellurium.
The author notes that atmospheric precipitation (fog, rain, snow) has less effect on the transmission of radiation on the near-infrared MFTV, but their range is worse. The far range (8-14 micrometers) has the best atmospheric transmittance.
According to Murakhovsky, for the production of Russian armored vehicles, the MFTV of the near-infrared range is used, while the MFTV of the far-infrared range is usually used in aviation and the navy.
In October 2019, the interim chief of the 47th military mission Dmitry Repin said that the Russian T-72 tank in 2019 at Uralvagonzavod began to be updated to the T-72B3 version, which is distinguished by Russian thermal imagers.
