UK MoD awards Elbit further night-vision goggles contract for British Army

Image of a serviceman equipped with Elbit Systems XACT nv33 NVG. (Elbit Systems UK)

UK-based manufacturing and engineering company Instro Precision, a subsidiary of Elbit Systems UK, was awarded a GBP16 million (USD19.9 million) “contract uplift” by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) to deliver additional night-vision goggles (NVGs), Elbit Systems UK confirmed to Janes on 29 January.

According to Elbit Systems UK, the contract for additional NVGs was awarded by the UK MoD in October 2024 but was not publicly announced until 29 January 2025.

The company did not disclose the number of additional XACT nv33 compact NVGs to be provided to the British Army under the new contract. Elbit Systems UK said Instro already delivered over 3,500 NVGs to the British Army over an undisclosed period of time.

The new contract expansion comes following “successful contracts in previous years”, Elbit Systems UK told Janes . On 10 November 2022 the company announced it had been awarded a USD19 million contract by the UK MoD for Micro XACT nv33 NVGs to be delivered over an 18-month period. This followed an earlier GBP11.5 million (USD14.3 million) deal signed in June 2021 for the delivery of the same NVGs, also over an 18-month period. The contract included options for additional follow-on orders over a five-year period.

In service with the Bundeswehr and Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the XACT nv33 NVG is a night-vision binocular for mounted and dismounted soldiers and special forces, available also as a monocular called the micro XACT nv32. It includes an integrated infrared (IR) illuminator, which maintains the user's ability to operate in complete darkness, said Elbit Systems UK.