Night Vision Tube Replacement and NVG Assembly in the Netherlands
Our night vision tube replacement service fits a new image intensifier tube into the goggles and monoculars your unit already uses. We also assemble new night vision goggles to order, with the housing, tube and accessories you specify.
All work is carried out in our workshop in the Netherlands. Every device is aligned, sealed and tested before it is returned, and the export documentation is prepared with the order.
What We Offer
The service is for defence units, police and security agencies, and the integrators who equip them. It covers four kinds of order:
- Tube replacement: a new tube in an existing goggle or monocular, so the housing, optics, mounts and batteries your operators train with stay in service.
- Phosphor conversion: green phosphor devices refitted with white phosphor tubes, so a mixed fleet can be brought to one image colour.
- NVG assembly to order: new dual-tube goggles and monoculars built around the tube class your task requires.
- Inspection and NVG repair: devices with damaged housings, lenses or controls are assessed first, and any repair is quoted before work starts.
Retubing puts the budget where it improves performance. The tube decides how much the operator sees, and tube technology moves faster than housing design, so a goggle bought with an entry-level tube can be upgraded years later without new drills, mounts or spares.
How We Handle Your Devices
Fitting the tube is the short part of the job. The steps around it are what make the device reliable again, which is why we only do this work in the workshop and never in the field.
Opening a sealed housing outside a controlled environment lets moist air in, and a misaligned binocular causes eye strain over a full night. Both are reasons to send devices to a workshop rather than attempt a retube or NVG repair on site.
NVG Assembly to Order
New goggles do not have to arrive as a fixed configuration from a distant factory. You choose the housing, the tube and the accessories, and we assemble, align, purge and test the unit before delivery. A reconnaissance team and a vehicle crew can receive the same housing with different tubes, rather than accepting whatever a standard model ships with.
Two configurations are available as standard: dual-tube military night vision goggles for helmet use, and a lightweight night vision monocular for handheld, helmet or weapon rail use. The same workshop carries out later maintenance and tube replacement, so devices do not leave Europe for service. Thermal sights, fusion systems and accessories are listed with the rest of our night vision equipment.
Tube Options We Fit
The tube is selected per order. The table lists the tube classes we offer for the dual-tube goggle, each with green or white phosphor.
| Tube class | FOM | Gating and gain |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 2+ | Up to 1250 | Autogated |
| Gen 2+ | 1251 to 1599 | Autogated |
| ECHO | 1600 to 2000 | Autogated, manual gain control |
| ECHO | 2000+ | Autogated, manual gain control |
| 4G | 2300+ | Autogated, manual gain control |
| 5G | 2500+ | Autogated, manual gain control |
The monocular takes a wider set: Gen 2+, Gen 3, ECHO, ECHO Elite, 4G, 4G Elite and 4G Elite Plus, also in green or white phosphor.
We advise on the class by the darkest conditions the unit actually works in. A higher class pays off on overcast, moonless nights and at longer ranges. For mostly urban or well-lit tasks, an autogated lower class is often sufficient, and the saving can equip more operators. Our overview of night vision generations compares the tube types in more detail.
The Night Vision Housings We Build On
The housings we assemble are designed for military and law enforcement use and are built around open tube choice:
- Open tube choice: the monocular housing accepts all makes and models of 18 mm tube, with or without manual gain control.
- Seven-year limited warranty on the optical, electronic and mechanical assembly.
- Built for field use: a nitrogen-purged, waterproof aluminium monocular of 202 grams without tube, rated from -40 °C to +50 °C, and a dual-tube goggle tested to a 2 metre drop and to vehicle compression.
- Controls and power: flip-up off, stow safety and selective channel control, AA or CR123 batteries and an external battery port.
Export Documentation With the Order
The housings are made in Canada and are not subject to the US International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), and the ECHO, 4G and 5G tubes in the table are made in Europe. Free of ITAR does not mean uncontrolled. Image intensifier equipment specially designed for military use falls under category ML15.c of the Common Military List of the European Union (2026 edition, approved by the Council on 23 February 2026), and image intensifier tubes above set thresholds fall under entry 6A002 of Annex I to the EU Dual-Use Regulation (EU) 2021/821.
In the Netherlands, licence applications for military and dual-use goods go to the Central Import and Export Office (CDIU) of Dutch Customs, which decides on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and checks the stated end use. Depending on the destination, a licence and an end-user statement may be required. We confirm the country of origin of each tube per order, because a tube made in the United States can bring US export controls into an otherwise ITAR-free device. We prepare the documentation with you as part of the order.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. The phosphor screen is part of the image intensifier tube, not the housing, so fitting a white phosphor tube changes the image from green to black and white without any other change to the device. In a binocular we replace both tubes, so both eyes see the same colour.
We can, but the new tube must be matched to the remaining one. A clear difference in brightness, colour or image quality between the eyes is tiring and reduces the benefit of a binocular. Where the remaining tube is old or of a lower class, we will usually advise replacing both.
No. The seven-year limited warranty covers the device assembly. Image intensifier tubes carry their own manufacturer’s warranty. Ask us for the tube warranty terms with the quotation, so both are documented for your asset register.
That is decided at inspection, before any tube is fitted. Aviation inspection guidance for night vision goggles (CASA Airworthiness Bulletin AWB 25-031, Issue 8, 2021) treats shading and edge glow as grounds for rejecting a tube, while flashing or flickering is in most cases a faulty electrical connection. We therefore check the power circuit first, and if the housing, lenses, seals or controls need work, we quote the night vision repair before you decide how to proceed.