SOFINS 2025: Thales unveils Panoramic night-vision goggles

Thales Panoramic NVGs displayed at SOFINS 2025. (Janes/Amael Kotlarski)

Thales unveiled a production model of a night-vision google (NVG) system it calls ‘Panoramic' at the Special Operations Forces Innovation Network Seminar (SOFINS) 2025 defence exhibition held from 1 to 3 April in Gironde, Southwest France.

Originally presented as a mock-up at SOFINS 2023, the new quad-tube goggles have now completed their development and are entering serial production.

The goggles consist of two units, each housing a pair of 18 mm image intensification (I2) tubes, made by French company Photonis. Each unit can be independently flipped up and features a built-in cut-off feature. The use of four tubes allows for an enlarged field-of-view (FOV) of over 120º. For comparison, traditional biocular or binocular NVGs typically offer between 42º and 50º of FOV. The Thales Panoramic is primarily intended for use by special forces, vehicles, and helicopter pilots. Compared with equivalent quad-tube NVGs, Thales emphasised the compactness of its design, saying the idea was that they protrude as little as possible from under the brim of a helmet.

The Panoramic weighs 740 g including the battery. Battery life is 10 hours of continuous use with an internal single AA 1.5 or 3.6 V battery. An additional 40 hours can be gained by using an additional battery pack, which houses four AA 1.5 V batteries. The Panoramic can be fitted with second- and up to fifth-generation I2 tubes, with white or green displays, based on customer preference. Optimal eye relief is stated as 20–25 mm; interpupillary distance is 55–76 mm; the focus range is 50 cm to infinity; and the set can be immersed in water at a depth of 1 m for two hours. The Panoramic is compatible with clip-on thermal devices and electro-optical sighting devices.