Tubes are often sold with labels such as “Omni VII” or with only an MX number. Neither tells you exactly when the tube was made. This page sets out what is known about US tube contracts and the introduction years of commercial tube lines, so you can judge how old a tube is likely to be. See also tube formats and compatibility and tube manufacturers. All pages: night vision database.
How to read this page: facts confirmed by a manufacturer, a government document or trade press are stated plainly. Facts that rest only on an encyclopedia, community wiki or similar source are marked (secondary source). Points we could not confirm are either left out or marked (not confirmed).
US Omnibus contracts and later tube buys
From about 1985 the US Army bought night vision goggles and spare tubes through a series of multi-year contracts called Omnibus (often shortened to Omni). Each contract had its own performance requirements, so the Omni name came to be used as shorthand for a tube’s era. The sources we found give no reliable figure of merit (FOM) or signal-to-noise values per Omni contract, so we do not publish any.
| Contract | Years | Contractor(s) | What was bought | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Omnibus I | c. 1985 (approximate, secondary source) | Litton (AN/PVS-7A); ITT/Varo joint venture (AN/PVS-7B) (secondary source) | Gen III goggles; details not confirmed | Secondary |
| Omnibus II | 1990 (approximate, secondary source) | ITT (secondary source) | A USD 164 million Army Gen III goggle contract to ITT from March 1990, protested by Litton, was reported at the time; that report does not use the Omnibus name. | Secondary |
| Omnibus III | 1992 (approximate, secondary source) | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Secondary |
| Omnibus IV | 1996 (approximate, secondary source) | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Secondary |
| Omnibus V | Awarded 1998 (three years); deliveries from 1999 | Litton Electro-Optical Systems (one awardee; others not named in sources found) | Enhanced Gen III devices and spares: AN/PVS-7D, AN/PVS-14, MX-11620 25 mm tubes for AN/PVS-4 and AN/TVS-5, options for AN/AVS-6 ANVIS | Confirmed |
| Omnibus VI | Awarded 2002; fiscal years 2002–2006; first deliveries with ITT Pinnacle tubes May 2003 | ITT (all aviation, 60% ground); Northrop Grumman (40% ground) | 18 mm Gen III tubes and goggles incl. AN/AVS-6 ANVIS and AN/PVS-7. Minimum performance had to equal the maximum of Omnibus V. | Confirmed |
| Omnibus VII | Awarded September 2005; work through September 2009 (orders still reported October 2009) | ITT Night Vision (Roanoke); Northrop Grumman (Garland / Tempe) | AN/PVS-14, AN/PVS-7D and spare MX-10130 and MX-11769 tubes | Confirmed |
| Omnibus VIII | Awarded 2011; orders reported 2012 and 2014, deliveries into early 2015 | ITT Exelis / Exelis (other awardees not confirmed) | Gen 3 tubes incl. MX-11769 for AN/PVS-14, and goggles | Confirmed |
| Omnibus IX / X | – | – | We found no primary source for a contract with this name. | Not confirmed |
| DLA – ANVIS tubes | Awarded April 2019; base period to April 2024 plus options | Harris (business moved to Elbit America in 2019) | Tubes for AN/AVS-6 and AN/AVS-9 | Confirmed |
| DLA – MX-11769 tubes | Announced June 2022 | L3Harris and Elbit America (separate awards) | MX-11769 tubes for AN/PVS-14 | Confirmed |
| DLA – white phosphor tubes | Announced March 2025; runs to January 2030 | Elbit America and other awardees | White phosphor tubes for AN/PVS-14 | Confirmed |
Related programmes for complete devices: the AN/PSQ-20 ENVG (ITT, 2005), the AN/PVS-31 BNVD for US special forces (L-3, 2015 and 2016) and the ENVG-B (L3, first production contract 2018). These are device contracts, not tube contracts.
Commercial tube lines and introduction years
For lines with a development start rather than a launch date, the table says so. A development start is not the first production year.
| Maker | Tube line / technology | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ITT (today Elbit America) | Gen 3 production | 1982 | First production contract for the AN/AVS-6 ANVIS. |
| ITT (today Elbit America) | Gen 3 Pinnacle | 2003 (first Army deliveries) | Gated power supply. Still ITT’s ground tube in 2007. |
| Litton / L3Harris | Filmed Gen III | 1986 (development start, per L3Harris) | – |
| Litton / L3Harris | Unfilmed (filmless) Gen III with autogating | 1998 (development start) | L3Harris places the unfilmed era in the late 1990s to early 2000s. |
| L3Harris | High-FOM 18 mm white phosphor | 2014 (development start) | Fielded e.g. in the AN/PVS-31 from 2015. |
| L3Harris | Anti-bloom tube | 2018 (development start) | Offered commercially in a GPNVG in 2025 (trade press). |
| L3Harris | 3000 FOM programme | 2019 (development start) | No fielding date stated. |
| Photonis | SDH-3 | 1999 | Per Exosens history timeline. |
| DEP (Photonis group) | XD-4 | 2000 | Per Exosens history timeline; some community sources give an earlier date. |
| Photonis | XR5 (XR-5) with auto-gating | 2002 | Still listed as a current product. |
| Photonis | INTENS / 4G | 2014 (4G-compliant INTENS); 2015 (16 mm); 2017 (US launch) | 4G specification: 400–1100 nm spectral range, FOM above 1800, resolution above 57 lp/mm, halo up to 0.9 mm. |
| Photonis | 4G+ | On the market by 2023 at the latest | Introduction year not confirmed. |
| Photonis | ECHO / ECHO+ | Not confirmed | Current commercial line; introduction year not found in official sources. |
| Photonis / DEP | SuperGen | Not confirmed | No dated official source found. |
| Exosens (Photonis) | OPS.4 | 2025 | Entry and training tier. |
| Exosens (Photonis) | 5G | September 2025 | – |
| Harder Digital | Gen I–III tubes | Company founded 1999 | No dated product lines found. |
What this means when buying
Contract names and MX numbers describe where a tube came from and what it fits. They are not a production date. Some practical points follow.
- Omni VII and Omni VIII. Omnibus VII ran from 2005 to about 2009. Omnibus VIII orders were placed from 2012 to 2014, with deliveries into early 2015. A tube correctly described as Omni VII or Omni VIII is therefore typically 10 to 20 years old in 2026.
- Older Omni tubes. Omnibus V and VI cover roughly 1998 to 2006, so such tubes are about 20 years old or more. Omnibus I to IV tubes date from the late 1980s and 1990s.
- Age and hours both matter. Gen 3 tubes have a long but finite life. The US NIJ gave more than 7,500 hours for Gen 3 in 1996; L3Harris and Elbit America quote 10,000 hours or more for current tubes. Hours of use are not recorded on the tube, and storage conditions also play a part.
- The MX number does not date the tube. MX-11769 tubes for the AN/PVS-14 were bought under Omnibus VII (2005), Omnibus VIII (2012) and DLA contracts (2022, 2025). A PVS-14 can therefore hold a tube from any of these periods.
- Ask what the label is based on. If a listing uses an Omni label, ask for the factory data sheet or contract paperwork that supports it.
- Surplus and reconditioned tubes. The NIJ guide advised caution with surplus tubes, which may include rejected units, and with reconditioned tubes.
How to date a tube
There is no single reliable method, but the following steps narrow it down.
- Get the factory data sheet. The US NIJ guidance is to ask for the original factory tube data sheet. US-made tubes carry a serial number, and the data sheet lists the manufacturer, serial number and measured parameters. If the sheet shows a test date, that is the best indication of age.
- Match the serial number. Check that the serial number on the data sheet matches the one on the tube.
- Read the maker’s name. The company name on the tube or data sheet narrows the period. The Roanoke line was ITT until 2011, then ITT Exelis / Exelis until about 2015, then Harris until 2019 (2011 and 2015 dates: secondary source), then Elbit America; the parent company rebranded as Twenty-Six Defense in September 2026. The Tempe line was Litton, then Northrop Grumman (from 2001, secondary source), L-3 (from 2008) and L3Harris (from 2019). Photonis Group became Exosens in 2023.
- Use phosphor colour only as a hint. In US service, white phosphor became common in newer programmes (for example the AN/PVS-31 from 2015 and AN/PVS-14 tube buys from 2025). Green tubes are often older stock, but green tubes are still made, so this is only a rough guide.
- Do not rely on serial-number rules. No manufacturer publishes a guide to decoding the year from the serial number. Rules of thumb found on forums are unverified.
- Do not rely on the MX number. It tells you the fit and application, not the year.
Sources
- Through a glass darkly – night vision article, 2010 (secondary source for Omnibus I–IV years)
- Roanoke Times, 20 April 1990 – Army goggle contract to ITT
- Aviation Week – Litton wins part of Army’s Omnibus contract (1998)
- Photonics.com – Army takes early delivery of Litton equipment
- Commerce Business Daily – Omnibus VI pre-solicitation (2001)
- Aviation Week – Night vision awards (2002)
- ITT Industries press release – first Pinnacle ANVIS shipped (2003)
- Flight Global – latest night vision goggles
- Military & Aerospace Electronics – Omnibus VII contract period
- Military & Aerospace Electronics – ITT and Northrop Grumman win Army night vision contracts (2005)
- Photonics Online – ITT awarded Omnibus VII
- Defense Industry Daily – Omnibus VII
- SecurityInfoWatch – ITT delivers one millionth Gen 3 tube (2007)
- ITT Exelis – OMNI VIII delivery order for image intensifier tubes (2012)
- Business Wire – ITT Exelis additional OMNI VIII orders (2012)
- UPI via Breitbart – OMNI VIII order (2014)
- ExecutiveBiz – Harris DLA contract for ANVIS tubes (2019)
- Military Periscope – L3Harris and Elbit win image intensifier work (2022)
- ASDNews – Elbit America white phosphor tubes for US Army (2025)
- Vision Systems Design – ITT wins ENVG contract (2005)
- GovConWire – L3 ENVG-B contract (2018)
- L3Harris press release – ENVG-B (2019)
- Military & Aerospace Electronics – L-3 Warrior Systems BNVD contract
- US NIJ – guide to image intensifier night vision devices, 1996 (PDF)
- L3Harris – Gen III image intensification tubes
- L3Harris – Guide to Gen III image intensifier tube technology (PDF)
- L3Harris – Unfilmed tube technology (2025)
- Soldier Systems Daily – anti-bloom GPNVG (2025)
- Exosens – history
- Exosens – XR5 image intensifier tube
- Exosens – INTENS / 4G
- Photonis – 4G for Swiss Army, press release (PDF)
- European Security & Defence – Photonis night vision (2021)
- Photonis – 4G+ leaflet, 2023 (PDF)
- Defence Industry Europe – Photonis 4G+ tubes for Australia (2024)
- Exosens – ECHO and ECHO+ tubes
- Exosens – 5G launch (2025)
- Exosens – 5G press release (PDF)
- Exosens – news room (Exosens rename, 2023)
- ASDNews – THEON announces acquisition of Harder Digital (2024)
- Washington Technology – Elbit completes Harris night vision deal (2019)
- ASDNews – Elbit America Gen 3 tubes (2026)
- Breaking Defense – Elbit America rebrands as Twenty-Six Defense (2026)
- Defense News – Twenty-Six Defense rebrand (2026)
- UPI – Northrop Grumman sells Electro-Optical Systems to L-3 (2008)
- Wikipedia – Exelis Inc.
Last checked: 9 November 2026. Spotted an error? Tell us in the forum.