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Secure lighting
Secure lighting is a form of NVIS-compatible illumination for ground-based applications. It is defined by the US Army CECOM (Communications-Electronics Command) at Fort Monmouth in a Secure Lighting Statement of Work. Secure lighting involves the modification of light sources to meet two goals:
- To minimize detectability by enemy NVIS, while preserving enough luminance to be usable.
- To maximize compatibility with Gen 2 NVIS.
The Statement of Work sets three design priorities to meet these goals:
Priority 1, wavelength restriction
Total energy above 700 nm is to be no more than 0.5 percent of the total energy emitted between 350 and 930 nm. The 0.5-percent cut-off is to be between 600 and 700 nm, and as close to 600 nm as possible. This minimizes red and near-infrared light emission, but retains wavelengths required to maintain visibility to the unaided eye.
Priority 2, luminance reduction
Light sources are to be dimmed down to 0.05 fL or less at night, just enough to be visible at close range. The must still provide full brightness in daylight.
Priority 3, viewing angle restriction
The viewing angle is to be as small as possible, consistent with the application, to curtail enemy observations. A viewing angle of +/- 10 degrees is desirable whenever possible.
These design priorities are not specifications, and allow flexibility in designing and retrofitting the large quantity and variety of Army equipment. The Army Statement of Work was never coordinated with MIL-L-85762A and does not use NVIS radiance (NR) to quantify performance. Similarly, it does not specify color coordinates for blue, green, or yellow.
Korry offers securely lit indicators, switches, switch panels, and keyboards. They rely on the same filtering technologies Korry has developed to meet the more stringent MIL-L-85762A NVIS-compatibility requirements for aviation.
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