Navitar awarded contract for Buhl lens assembly for use on aircraft carrier

Navitar's Buhl lens

Navitar Inc., a manufacturer of precision optical and electro-optic systems, was recently awarded a contract with the Defense Supply Center (DSSC) in Columbus, OH, for a multi-element lens assembly to be used by the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAVAIR) in Lakehurst, NJ. 

The lens assembly requested by the DSCC has been approved for use in the Aircraft Launch and Recovery Equipment (ALRE) of U.S. Navy aircraft carriers, specifically within the Optical Landing System (OLS).   

The origins of the lens assembly lie with Buhl Optical, an optics company previously based in Pittsburgh, PA, that was acquired by Navitar in 1997. Buhl first manufactured the lens assembly for the Navy in 1989. Engineers at Navitar worked with NAVAIR to make slight modifications and improvements to the specifications and updated the lens design to meet today’s high-tech standards. 

“We are pleased to have been selected to work with the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAVAIR) and be a vendor of the DSCC,” said Julian Goldstein, President of Navitar. “Navitar acquired Buhl Optical and more recently Special Optics, in order to expand the markets and customers we serve.”
Navitar is a supplier of standard and custom engineered optics, opto-mechanical sub-assemblies and opto-electronic system solutions for medical and biotechnology, defense and security, military and government, semiconductor, industrial imaging and digital projection markets. Navitar integrates its advanced optics, mechanics, and electronics capabilities into complete turnkey precision solutions.

Headquartered in Rochester, NY, Navitar also has offices and subsidiaries in Japan, Germany, China, Israel and the United Kingdom.