March 25, 2003
by Frank Main
Staff Reporter

A suburban Chicago company is accusing the government of putting military pilots in danger with its decision to award a contract for making a new model of night vision goggles to a clout-heavy competitor in New England.

Night Vision Corp. of Lincolnwood is seeking at least $20 million from the United States in a lawsuit filed May 15 in the Federal Court of Claims in Washington.

Night Vision received $4.3 million from the Air Force in the mid-1990s to develop ejection-safe panoramic night vision goggles for pilots in fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters.

But in 1999, the Air Force awarded a $6.4 million contract to produce the goggles to a competitor, Insight Technology Corp. of New Hampshire, setting back production of the devices, the suit says.

"Insight has no experience of ability to manufacture these night vision goggles," said attorney P. Andrew Fleming of the Novack and Macey law firm, which is representing Night Vision.

Since Insight won the contract, pilots have continued to use older-model goggles that give them a 40-degree field of view, instead of the 100-degree range provided by Night Vision's panoramic model, the lawsuit says.

The older models can cause pilots to misjudge ground fire, says the lawsuit, pointing to Majors Harry Schmidt and William Umbach of the Illinois Air National Guard as prime examples.

Schmidt dropped a 500-pound bomb on a company of Canadian soldiers conducting live-fire exercises on the ground in Afghanistan as he and Umbach flew a mission in 2002. Four paratroopers were killed and eight wounded when the F-16 pilots mistook the exercises for an enemy attack. One of the pilots' defenses was that they were wearing night vision goggles, impairing their peripheral vision and depth perception.

"Ground fire looks like it's coming at you when you are in the air wearing night vision goggles," Charles Gittins, an attorney for Schmidt, said in a military hearing this year.

The Air Force handed Night Vision's trade secrets to Insight without compensation, the lawsuit adds. Night Vision claims it offered to sell the information to the Air Force for $4 million, but never heard back.

A spokesman for the Air Force declined to comment on the lawsuit. Insight could not be reached.

Founded in 1984, Novack and Macey is a litigation firm that specializes in complex commercial cases. The firm has successfully represented clients in a wide variety of business disputes, including matters involving banking, contracts, class actions, RICO, securities, real estate, partnerships and close corporations, unfair competition, insurance coverage, environmental matters, business torts and employment-related issues. Novack and Macey attorneys have honed their skills in courtrooms, mediations and arbitrations nationwide. Clients include corporations, institutions, investment ventures, partnerships and individuals.

For further information please contact P. Andrew Fleming, at 312.419.6900.