Driver's Vision Enhancement

Next Generation DVE's for Military Combat Vehicles

Leonardo DRS' Driver's Vision Enhancement products improve survivability and mission capability by maintaining the driver and crew’s awareness of their environment. Leonardo DRS offers a complete suite of products that provide armored vehicle users with visibility from their vehicle whilst under armor. By providing drivers a wider field of view (FOV), they can safely maneuver combat vehicles in convert missions and in times of limited visibility through battlefield obscurants.

DVE Systems & Components

Driver’s Vision Enhancer Wide (DVE Wide)
Leonardo DRS’ DVE Wide provides vehicle operators an expanded field of view (FOV) over the existing system. The New 107⁰ FOV provides enhanced situational awareness, for combat and tactical vehicles alike. The wider FOV improves safety and survivability by eliminating blind spots and allows operators to safely navigate through sand, haze, smoke, light fog and the dark of the night.The IBAS Block 2 is a high-resolution, high-definition color day camera and biocular display.

Enhanced Situational Awareness (ESA) System
Leonardo DRS’ ESA system uses the DVE Wide as the heart of the system. With its own built in video processing, the DVE Wide allows three external cameras to plug into the system and provide a stitched video output so the operator can view all the cameras on a single display.

Driver’s Vision Enhancer UltraLite (DVE UL)
The DVE UL is the perfect sensor for providing combat support and service vehicle operators with increased driver’s vision capability, survivability and mobility during day, night and in adverse weather conditions such as dust, smoke and haze. Featuring an industry-leading 640 x 480, 17 μm uncooled thermal detector, the DVE UL outputs a 40° x 30° field of view providing the driver with increased awareness and safer operation while driving on cliff edges and hills when facing forward.

Driver’s Vision Enhancer UltraWide (DVE UW)
The DVE UW combines industry leading 640 x 480, 17 μm pixel pitch technology with Leonardo DRS’ patented advanced absorber superstructure to provide greater sensitivity and superior image quality. Featuring a wide angle lens, the DVE UW outputs an image with a 114° x 98° field of view. This wide field of view provides the driver and crew with excellent close-in situational awareness and allows troops to deploy from combat vehicles decisively.

Abrams Driver’s Vision Enhancer (DVE-A)
The DVE-A improves situational awareness in visually degraded conditions, provides critical force protection, continued mission prosecution and operational effectiveness. The DVE-A offers the latest in long wave thermal imaging capability.

M9 Armored Combat Earthmover (ACE) Vision Enhancement System (VES)
ACE vehicles are designed to support the front lines, and so is the VES. With 10 combined daylight and infrared cameras feeding two in-vehicle displays, the driver has a clear 360-degree sense of the environment, and the Warfighters around them.

Improved Bradley Acquisition Subsystem (IBAS) Block 2

High Resolution High Definition Color Day Camera & Biocular Display

The new Improved Bradley Acquisition System (IBAS) Block 2 includes enhanced capabilities to improve operational efficiencies and lethality and provides life-cycle cost and reliability improvements. The most notable enhancement to IBAS is the high definition high resolution color imagery.

This allows the Warfighter to discriminate objects on the battlefield better than previous standard black and white images. The infrared imagery provides the Warfighter enhanced situational awareness and allows for quicker decisions in demanding military operations when trying to locate and identify targets. Learn more

Thermal Sight III (TS III)

Thermal Sight III (TS III) Situational awareness (SA) and Warfighter safety are at the core of Thermal Sight III (TS-III), including multiple fields of view (FOV), to make this rugged sight the perfect addition to any tactical vehicle. The operator can select to view multiple FOV’s simultaneously, increasing SA while remaining protected in the vehicle and operating the external weapon system. The sight utilizes Leonardo DRS’ industry leading uncooled long-wave infrared detector, the U9000 thermal imaging module.

Along with the 10 µm 1280 x 960 resolution thermal video are three instantly selectable FOV’s; Narrow, Medium, and Wide. The sight is a low SWaP system weighing less than 16 pounds and only requiring 15 watts of power to operate. The TS-III is a critical part of the sensor suite allowing target acquisition and fire burst target engagement.