US-manufactured Gen 3 night vision tubes. Every tube comes with a spec sheet and bench test.
Gen 3 image intensifier tubes are ITAR-controlled components manufactured exclusively in the United States by two companies: L3 Harris (Rochester, NY) and Elbit Systems of America (Roanoke, VA). There is no third source. Any tube offered as "Gen 3" that cannot be traced to one of these two manufacturers is not Gen 3. If you're buying a tube, you should know exactly who made it and what test data backs it up.
Adams Industries has sourced tubes directly from both manufacturers since 1993. We don't buy on the gray market, and we don't sell tubes we haven't verified. Every tube comes with documentation: manufacturer, date code, figure of merit (FOM), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and key specifications measured at our bench before shipment.
The baseline Gen 3 tube. Meets original AN/PVS-14 mil-spec. Thin-film MCP, autogated, available in white and green phosphor. Most common tube in the US military inventory. L3 Harris or Elbit manufactured.
FOM range: 1400–1800 typical. Spec sheet included.
Filmless microchannel plate removes the ion barrier film, increasing photon-to-electron conversion efficiency. Reduced halo, improved low-light resolution. White phosphor standard. Primarily Elbit Systems manufactured.
FOM range: 1600–2000 typical. Spec sheet included.
Top-tier commercially available Gen 3. Selected for peak FOM from production runs. Issued to tier-1 units and available to qualified civilian purchasers. White phosphor. L3 Harris or Elbit per availability.
FOM range: 1900–2400+ typical. Spec sheet included.
| Figure of Merit (FOM) | Signal-to-noise ratio × resolution (lp/mm). Higher is better. 1800+ is excellent for civilian use; 2000+ is what tier-1 units request. |
|---|---|
| Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) | Measures the tube's ability to produce a clean image in low-light conditions. 25+ is good; 28+ is excellent. |
| Center Resolution | Line pairs per millimeter at the center of the image. 64+ lp/mm is standard; 72+ is top-tier. |
| Halo Diameter | How large the bright ring around a point light source appears. Smaller is better. Filmless tubes have significantly reduced halo vs. filmed. |
| EBI (Equivalent Background Illumination) | Tube's self-generated noise level. Lower is better. <2.0 μlux is excellent. |
| Photocathode Sensitivity | Measured in µA/lm. Higher = more efficient conversion of photons to electrons. 1800+ is solid; 2200+ is exceptional. |
Every tube Adams Industries sells ships with the manufacturer test data so you can verify these numbers yourself. We don't make claims we can't back up with paper.
Grade C MX-11769 tubes start around $1,200. Mid-grade (Grade A MX-11769) run $1,600–$2,000. Filmless 20UA tubes start around $2,500. Top-tier 24UA Elite filmless (FOM 2000+) range from $3,500 to $5,500 depending on grade and manufacturer. Pricing fluctuates with inventory. Contact us for current availability.
Both are genuine Gen 3 made in the United States. L3 Harris (Rochester, NY) produces tubes for the primary PVS-14 mil-spec contract. Elbit Systems of America (Roanoke, VA) makes the filmless 20UA and 24UA series that dominate civilian high-performance builds. At the same FOM grade, performance is comparable. The spec sheet matters more than the badge.
FOM = Signal-to-Noise Ratio × Resolution (lp/mm). A tube with SNR 25 and 64 lp/mm resolution = FOM 1600. Higher is better. 1600–1800 is solid for civilian use. 2000+ is high-performance. 2376+ is Omni 8 equivalent — what tier-1 military units request.
Standard Gen 3 tubes have an ion barrier film on the microchannel plate that reduces sensitivity. Filmless (unfilmed) tubes remove this barrier — higher photon conversion efficiency, less halo around bright sources, cleaner low-light image. Filmless is the current standard for high-performance civilian NVG builds and is what Elbit's 20UA and 24UA series use.
Yes — for domestic use, US persons can legally purchase Gen 3 tubes. They are ITAR-controlled (Category XII), meaning no export without a State Department license and no sale to foreign nationals. Every Adams Industries tube sale requires verification of US citizenship or permanent residency.
These refer to US military Omnibus Night Vision contract performance tiers. Omni 7: minimum FOM ~1600. Omni 8: minimum FOM ~1800+, tighter cosmetic and performance floors. In commercial use, "Omni 8" means the current production-run performance benchmark. We stock both by availability — ask for the spec sheet.