Christian at Military.com’s Kit Up! has heard an interesting rumour on one of the technologies that Seal Team 6 used to kill Osama bin Laden: Night vision contact lenses! Holy Batman, is all I can say.
I heard a rumour that the Team guys who busted bin Laden might have been wearing “cat vision” contact lenses that literally give the wearer night vision for a limited time without having to wear the bulky, heavy NVGs.
Night Vision Goggles technology has been advanced quickly over the last decade. Right now, the most advanced setups are panoramic models that use four 16mm image intensifiers tubes, which provides with a 100 degrees horizontal by 40 degrees vertical field of view. They are made by the same company who made the F-35 demon helmet as well as other manufacturers.
These helmets are still limited, however. While they are better than your standard NVGs, they are quite heavy and still don’t provide the natural field of view that will be ideal for operation.
The night vision contacts, however, are almost sci-fi material. People have been speculating about this technology for almost a decade, so perhaps they exist in some hidden Area 51 lab. If anyone has access to these, that would be the SEALs from Team 6. We already know that these guys have access to really advanced, completely unknown technology like their stealth transport helicopters. [Kit Up]