Environmental: Operating Temperature Range -20°C to +50°C (-4°F
to +122°F)
Storage Temperature Range -40°C to +60°C (-40°F to +140°F)
SPOTTING
SHOOTING
When you are using a Thermal Vision Monocular it can be difficult
to fire a weapon accurately. Unlike with Night Vision, you can’t use
your red dot on a very low setting as the optic can’t see through
the glass effectively. Alternatively, NV users mount Infra-red lasers
on their weapons and simply use those to aim but this isn’t an
option with thermal as the laser wouldn’t heat the target (or the
air) up enough to be visible.
NIGHT AND DAY
One major difference between the FLIR Breach and an NV unit,
such as the popular PVS14, is that the thermal is usable in both
full daylight and pitch black. This makes it more versatile than a
NV device, which should only be used in low light or in the dark
with an additional illuminator. At the extreme engagement ranges
it can be difficult to identify targets so if this is important for your
task, it would be a good idea to also use a white light for positive
identification. This might also help if you needed to snap shoot
under stress.
As most training scenarios are played out in variable light
conditions using just one eye for your optic can be a good idea. For
example, I’ve seen many users with binocular NV not realising that
they are lit up by the ambient conditions and thinking that their
equipment has made them invisible. Having one eye viewing an
image and the other adjusted to the night has many advantages.
Compared to just stumbling around in the dark the FLIR Breach
makes a huge difference and you can safely navigate a pitch-black
room with a little practise. In an open area you would have the
advantage over a user with NV as they would be visible from
further away.
C G
The FLIR Breach is best used for its intended purpose, which is
spotting and finding targets. It can do this way beyond normal
engagement distances and at ranges up to 1km, depending what
palette you have it set on and what the background temperature
is. Although an often-overused expression, this really is a complete
game changer when it comes to hunting threats in dense
undergrowth or hiding in foliage. During testing I was able to easily
see possible and potential threats hiding way inside a treeline or
deep within shadow. You’d need to copy Arnie in Predator and
keep smearing yourself with cold mud to stay hidden! Plus, due
to the nature of thermal optics, you can do this at midnight or
midday! The FLIR Breach could be the ultimate anti-sniper/anti-
marksman device… You can see from our pictures that our test
subjects found it almost impossible to stay hidden.
The best option I found was to mount the FLIR Breach over
my non-dominant eye and use my dominant eye to aim and fire
my weapon conventionally. In anything other than pitch black I
was able to identify the area in which they were located and aim
accurately. With training and practise this process would be faster
and easier.
pmcimagazine.com