ABSTRACT
This chapter surveys the military needs for and applications of optoelectronics, and illustrates these with examples. The intention is to give the interested reader a conceptual overview of this very wide subject and provide references for analytical detail. Optical instruments and knowledge were used in warfare since the Ancient Greek times. Around 500 years BC, Thales of Miletus proposed geometry allowing the range of ships to be estimated from a tall tower. There has always been a close link between scientific and technological progress and military demands. World War 2 involved the scientific community in the war in an unprecedented manner. Electro-optic (EO) imaging systems convert optical radiation from the scene into electrical energy to allow it to be displayed in real time at a more convenient wavelength, brightness level, or location. Image tubes were first developed and saw limited use during World War 2.
