Features
- Blue-green, infra-red secure output: the lamp lights in cyan, the blue-green colour that MIL-PRF-32215 sets for an infra-red secure blackout front driving lamp, with its emission held to the visible band.
- Low signature to night vision: very little near-infrared output, so the lamp is much less conspicuous to image intensifier night vision devices than a filament blackout drive lamp.
- Forward light under light discipline: gives the driver just enough light to the front to move when the service headlamps are off and blackout drive is selected.
- Left-hand and right-hand versions: two part numbers, so the lamp can be specified for the side of the vehicle where it is mounted, singly or as a pair.
- Compact LED lamp: a small, light housing gives the integrator more freedom in where the lamp sits on the front of the vehicle.
- No filament to fail: solid-state LED construction, with no filament to break under shock and vibration in cross-country driving.
- Part of a matching blackout set: the same connector system and housing material as the 60 mm blackout front marker, tail and stop lights (model 0347), so one harness standard and one spares pool cover front and rear blackout lighting.
What is a cyan blackout driving light?
A blackout driving light is the forward lamp a military vehicle uses when it must move at night without its service headlamps. On US military vehicles the BO DRIVE position of the main light switch turns on all blackout lights, including the drive lamp, while the vehicle stays dark to anyone further away. It is one part of the vehicle’s blackout lighting, together with the blackout markers and the blackout stop light.
Traditional blackout drive lamps used a filament bulb behind a hood and gave a diffused white beam. A filament bulb turns less than 5% of its power into visible light and radiates most of the rest as infrared, which image intensifier night vision devices pick up. MIL-PRF-32215 therefore specifies the LED infra-red secure blackout front driving lamp: blue-green light, limited to the visible spectrum. Cyan is that colour. Model 0550 is one of our military blackout lights built to this principle.
Part Numbers
| Part No. | Description |
|---|---|
| 0550312 | LH Blackout Driving Light, Cyan |
| 0550732 | RH Blackout Driving Light, Cyan |
State the part number, or the side (LH or RH) and the quantity, in your enquiry.
Blue-green (cyan) light, with emission limited to the visible spectrum, 380 to 700 nm
Any emission peak between 700 and 1050 nm no more than 15% of the peak in the visible spectrum
Third generation night vision responds from about 600 nm to a little over 900 nm
Specifications
| Description | Cyan LH Blackout Driving Light |
| Input Voltage | 24 V DC |
| Current Draw | 0.015A @ 24V DC |
| Outer Lens Material | Polycarbonate |
| Outer Lens Colour | Clear |
| Housing Material | Nylon |
| Housing Colour | Black |
| Mounting Type | Flange Mount |
| Operating Temperature Range | -40 °C to 85 °C (-40 °F to 185 °F) |
| Connector | Deutsch DT04-2P – DT06-2S |
| Wiring | Red wire: Positive, Black wire: Ground |
| Standards | IP67, MIL-PRF-32212A, MIL-PRF-32214, MIL-PRF-32215A, MIL-STD-461F |
Forward Light with a Low Infrared Signature
Blackout driving is about being able to move without being seen. Third generation image intensifier tubes respond from about 600 nm to a little over 900 nm, a band that reaches well beyond what the human eye can see. A lamp that leaks light in that band can stand out through night vision even where it is hardly visible to the eye. MIL-PRF-32215 limits the emission of an infra-red secure blackout driving lamp to the visible spectrum and caps any peak between 700 and 1050 nm at 15% of the visible peak.
The lamp also has to live on a military vehicle. Radios and sensitive electronics share the vehicle’s power system, and MIL-STD-461 is the US standard that controls electromagnetic interference between equipment; Model 0550 is listed to revision F. The IP67 sealing keeps out dust and water during temporary immersion, which matters for a lamp on the front of a vehicle that fords and drives through mud.
Complete the Blackout Set
Model 0550 lights the way ahead. For the blackout front marker, tail and stop functions, see our 60 mm blackout tail, stop and marker lights (model 0347), which use the same connector system. Where the crew drives on night vision rather than by eye, our IR driving lights light the ground in the near infrared instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cyan is the colour of the light the lamp emits. MIL-PRF-32215, the US performance specification for LED infra-red secure blackout front driving lamps, requires blue-green light, limited to the visible spectrum. The outer lens is clear; the colour comes from the LEDs.
It is a visible lamp, so it is not invisible. Its infra-red secure design limits emission in the near infrared, where image intensifier night vision devices are sensitive, so it is much less conspicuous through them than a filament blackout drive lamp. As an LED it also produces far less heat than a filament lamp. Blackout lighting still depends on light discipline: the crew switches the lamp on only when blackout drive is needed.
IP67, MIL-PRF-32212A, MIL-PRF-32214, MIL-PRF-32215A and MIL-STD-461F. MIL-PRF-32215A is the specification for LED infra-red secure blackout front driving lamps, this lamp type. MIL-PRF-32212A and MIL-PRF-32214 are the companion specifications of the same 2009 family, for LED rear composite lamps and front park and turn lamps with blackout functions. MIL-STD-461F covers electromagnetic interference. If your programme calls up a later revision of MIL-STD-461, raise it at the enquiry stage.
