The technical resolution of intensifier tubes isn't actually bad at all. The AN/PVS-7 tube would be the equivalent of about a 3.2 megapixel digital sensor.
The Technocratic Syndicalists wrote:MWIR was the plan, and are you sure they have to be cooled? I've seen references to uncooled MWIR detectors built on GaAS and PbSe substrate photodetectors. For the pilot version I was thinking SWIR since IIRC polycarbonate is 90% transparent to SWIR but opaque to MWIR and LWIR.
Yes. It is technically possible but they aren't good.
LWIR is right at the peak of the earths black body emissions. MWIR is well above it. So there is comparatively a lot less light available at night.