The Institute of Optronics (IOP) ( ur, ) is an administrative research weapons engineering institute located in Rawalpindi, Punjab Province of Pakistan. The IOP is noted for its production of advanced military technologies produced for the
Pakistan Armed Forces
The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the military forces of Pakistan. It is the world's sixth-largest military measured by active military personnel and consist of three formally uniformed services—the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, which are ...
.
History
The Institute of Optronics (IOP) was established in 1984 as a project led
Ministry of Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
(MoD) of
Government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provin ...
. The project was led by then-
Director-General
A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals''
) or general director is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer, within a government ...
of the
DESTO Lieutenant-General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
Talat Masood
Lieutenant-General Talat Masood (Urdu: طلعت مسعُود) is a retired three-star rank army general, a political commentator, and a mechanical engineer.
His career in the military spent in the Pakistan Army Corps of EME as an engineerin ...
who supervised the construction of the institute.
After it was made fully functional, the IOP's were handed over to civilian management. Dr. Akram Hussain Abidi, a scientist in the field of
optical physics
Atomic, molecular, and optical physics (AMO) is the study of matter-matter and light-matter interactions; at the scale of one or a few atoms and energy scales around several electron volts. The three areas are closely interrelated. AMO theory in ...
and former
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
senior scientist, was its pioneer, Director-General. Presently the organization is working under the Ministry of Defence Production, Government of Pakistan.
ROLE and TASK of IOP include Undertaking Research & Development, and production of
*
NVDs
*
Laser Rangefinder
A laser rangefinder, also known as a laser telemeter, is a rangefinder that uses a laser beam to determine the distance to an object. The most common form of laser rangefinder operates on the time of flight principle by sending a laser pulse in ...
s
*
Thermal Imaging
Infrared thermography (IRT), thermal video and/or thermal imaging, is a process where a thermal camera captures and creates an image of an object by using infrared radiation emitted from the object in a process, which are examples of infrared i ...
Systems
*Battle Field Surveillance Systems
*Other Commercial, Industrial, and Military
Optronics
Optoelectronics (or optronics) is the study and application of electronic devices and systems that find, detect and control light, usually considered a sub-field of photonics. In this context, ''light'' often includes invisible forms of radiatio ...
' Products
See also
*
Night vision device
A night-vision device (NVD), also known as a night optical/observation device (NOD), night-vision goggle (NVG), is an optoelectronic device that allows visualization of images in low levels of light, improving the user's night vision. The dev ...
*
AN/PVS-4
AN/PVS-4 (Night Vision Sight, Individual Served Weapon, AN/PVS-4) is the U.S. military designation for a specification of the first second generation passive Night vision device.
The AN/PVS-4 first saw widespread use during the Gulf War and lat ...
*
AN/PVS-14
The AN/PVS-14 Monocular Night-vision device, Night Vision Device (MNVD) is in widespread use by the United States Armed Forces as well as NATO allies around the world. It uses a third generation image intensifier tube, and is primarily manufactured ...
*
IDEAS
References
External links
Official Website of Ministry of Defence Production, Government of Pakistanideas Pakistan, Institute of Optronics
{{Defence industry of Pakistan
Optoelectronics
Pakistan federal departments and agencies
1984 establishments in Pakistan