The Institute of Optronics (shortened as IOP) was a military funded

research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in some countries as OKB, experiment and design, is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products. R&D constitutes the first stage ...

institute located in

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. Established in 1984 by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the Institute of Optronics (IOP) conducted research on

military lasers A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily Weapon, armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable ...

optoelectronics 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 radi ...

and

photonics Photonics is a branch of optics that involves the application of generation, detection, and manipulation of light in the form of photons through emission, transmission, modulation, signal processing, switching, amplification, and sensing. E ...

to support the capabilities of 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 consists of three uniformed services—the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, which are backe ...

. After a reorganization within the

Ministry of Defence Production The Ministry of Defence Production (; ''Trans.'': ''Wazarat-e-Defai Padawar'') abbreviated as MoDP, is an executive ministry of the federal Government of Pakistan with objectives of development and production of ordnance and machinery for the ...

in 2020, the IOP was merged into the newly formed

Research and Development Establishment Research & Development Establishment (Engineers) (R&DE(E) or R&DE(Engrs)) is a laboratory of the Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO). Located in Pune, Maharashtra, India. its primary function is development of mobility equipment ...

Overview

In 1984, the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

established the Institute of Optronics (IOP) as a research and development (R&D) institute focused on military applications of lasers, optoelectronics, photonics and optronics. Set up under military control, the institute's first director was

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was normall ...

Talat Masood 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 engineering officer and also ...

from DESTO, located in

Rawalpindi Cantonment Rawalpindi Cantonment () is a large military town located in Rawalpindi, Punjab province, Pakistan. The headquarters of the Pakistan Army, which are known as the General Headquarters (GHQ), are located in the nearby Chaklala Cantonment. It cove ...

. The scientific investigations on photonics was led by its principal investigator, Akram S. Hussain Abidi, a physicist with optics specialization who once worked for the

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

at their

Goddard Space Flight Center The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C., in Greenbelt, Maryland, United States. Established on May 1, 1959, as NASA's first space flight center, GSFC ...

. Under Abidi's leadership, the institute acquired expertise in night vision technology through reverse engineering of American models. During the period 1985–1989, the IOP successfully developed and manufactured its first night vision devices (NVDs) based on the AN/PVS-4, AN/PVS-5 and AN/PVS-7 models.

Products

* Single Tube Night Vision Binocular * Aviator's Night Vision Goggle For Helicopter * Thermal Imaging (TI) Based APC Commander & Driver Sights * Short & Medium Range Thermal Weapon Sight * Night Vision Weapon Sight For LMG

References

External links

Official Website of Ministry of Defence ProductionResearch and Development Establishment
{{Ministry of Defence Production (Pakistan) 1984 establishments in Pakistan Defunct government departments and agencies of Pakistan

Overview

Products

See also

References

External links