Category XII
Fire Control, Laser, Imaging, and Guidance Equipment
Paragraphs marked SME are Significant Military Equipment.
| Paragraph | Text |
|---|---|
| (a) | Fire control, aiming, detection, guidance, and tracking systems, as follows: |
| (1) | Fire control systems; SME |
| (2) | Electronic or optical weapon positioning, laying, or spotting systems; SME |
| (3) | Laser spot trackers or laser spot detection, location, or imaging systems, with an operational wavelength shorter than 400 nm or longer than 710 nm and that are for laser target designators or coded target markers controlled in paragraph (b)(1); SME |
| (4) | Bomb sights or bombing computers; SME |
| (5) | Electro-optical systems that automatically detect and locate ordnance launch, blast, or fire; SME |
| (6) | Electro-optical ordnance guidance systems; SME |
| (7) | Missile or ordnance electro-optical tracking systems; SME |
| (8) | Remote wind-sensing systems specially designed for ballistic-corrected aiming; or SME |
| (9) | Helmet mounted display (HMD) systems or end items (e.g., Combat Vehicle Crew HMD, Mounted Warrior HMD, Integrated Helmet Assembly Subsystem, Drivers Head Tracked Vision System), other than such items controlled in Category VIII, that: |
| (i) | Incorporate or interface (either via wired or wireless connection) with optical sights or slewing devices that aim, launch, track, or manage munitions; or |
| (ii) | Control infrared imaging systems or end items described in paragraphs (a) through (d) of this category. |
| (b) | Laser systems and end items, as follows: SME |
| (1) | Laser target designators or coded target markers, that mediate the delivery of ordnance to a target; |
| (2) | Target illumination systems having a variable beam divergence and a laser output wavelength exceeding 710 nm, to artificially light an area to search, locate, or track a target; |
| (3) | Laser rangefinders having any of the following: |
| (i) | Output wavelength of 1064 nm and any Q-switched pulse output; or |
| (ii) | Output wavelength exceeding 1064 nm and any of the following: |
| (4) | Targeting systems and target location systems, incorporating or specially designed to incorporate both of the following: |
| (i) | A laser rangefinder; and |
| (ii) | A defense article controlled in paragraph (d) of this category (MT if designed or modified for rockets, missiles, space launch vehicles (SLVs), drones, or unmanned aerial vehicle systems capable of delivering at least a 500 kg payload to a range of at least 300 km); |
| (5) | Systems specially designed to use laser energy with an output wavelength exceeding 710 nm for exploiting differential target-background retroreflectance in order to detect optical/electro-optical equipment (e.g., optical augmentation systems); |
| (6) | Light detection and ranging (LIDAR), laser detection and ranging (LADAR), or range-gated systems, specially designed for a military end user |
| (7) | Developmental lasers or laser systems funded by the Department of Defense via contract or other funding authorization. |
| (c) | Imaging systems or end items, as follows: SME |
| (1) | Binoculars, bioculars, monoculars, goggles, or head or helmet-mounted imaging systems (including video-based articles having a separate near-to-eye display), as follows: |
| (i) | Employing an autogated third generation image intensifier tube or a higher generation image intensifier tube; |
| (ii) | Fusing output of an image intensifier tube and an infrared focal plane array having a peak response wavelength greater than 1,000 nm; or |
| (2) | Weapon sights (i.e., with a reticle) or aiming or imaging systems (e.g., clip-on), specially designed to mount to a weapon or to withstand weapon shock or recoil, with or without an integrated viewer or display, and also incorporating or specially designed to incorporate any of the following: |
| (i) | An infrared focal plane array having a peak response wavelength exceeding 1,000 nm; |
| (ii) | Second generation with luminous sensitivity greater than 350 µA/lm, third generation, or higher generation, image intensifier tubes; |
| (iv) | Infrared laser having a wavelength exceeding 710 nm; |
| (3) | Electro-optical reconnaissance, surveillance, target detection, or target acquisition systems, specially designed for articles in this subchapter or specially designed for a military end user (MT if for determining bearings to specific electromagnetic sources (direction finding equipment) or terrain characteristics and designed or modified for rockets, missiles, SLVs, drones, or unmanned aerial vehicle systems capable of delivering at least a 500 kg payload to a range of at least 300 km); |
| (4) | Infrared search and track (IRST) systems having one of the following: |
| (i) | Airborne or naval systems, that: |
| (ii) | Specially designed for a military end user; |
| (5) | Distributed aperture systems having a peak response wavelength exceeding 710 nm specially designed for articles in this subchapter or specially designed for a military end user; |
| (6) | Infrared imaging systems, as follows: |
| (i) | Mobile reconnaissance, scout, or surveillance systems providing real-time target recognition at ranges greater than 3 km (e.g., LRAS, CIV, HTI, SeeSpot, MMS); |
| (ii) | Airborne stabilized systems specially designed for military reconnaissance (e.g., DB-110, C-B4); |
| (iv) | Automated missile detection or warning systems; |
| (v) | Systems hardened to withstand electromagnetic pulse (EMP), directed energy, chemical, biological, or radiological threats; |
| (vi) | Systems incorporating mechanism(s) to reduce the optical chain signature for optical augmentation; |
| (7) | Terahertz imaging systems as follows: |
| (i) | Concealed object detection systems operating in the frequency range from 30 GHz to 3000 GHz, and having a resolution less (better) than 0.1 milliradians at a standoff range of 100 m; or |
| (ii) | Specially designed for a military end user; |
| (8) | Systems or equipment, incorporating an ultraviolet or infrared (IR) beacon or emitter, specially designed for Combat Identification; |
| (9) | Systems that project radiometrically calibrated scenes at a frame rate greater than 30 Hz directly into the entrance aperture of an electro-optical or infrared (EO/IR) sensor controlled in this subchapter within either the spectral band exceeding 10 nm but not exceeding 400 nm, or the spectral band exceeding 900 nm but not exceeding 30,000 nm; |
| (10) | Developmental electro-optical, infrared, or terahertz systems funded by the Department of Defense. |
| (d) | Guidance and navigation systems or end items, as follows: |
| (1) | Guidance or navigation systems (e.g., inertial navigation systems, inertial reference units, attitude and heading reference systems) having any of the following: |
| (i) | A circular error probability at fifty percent (CEP50) of position error rate less (better) than 0.28 nautical miles per hour, without the use of positional aiding references; |
| (ii) | A heading error or true north determination of less (better) than 0.28 mrad secant (latitude) (0.016043 degrees secant (latitude)), without the use of positional aiding references; |
| (iv) | Meeting or exceeding specified performance at linear acceleration levels exceeding 25g (MT if designed or modified for rockets, missiles, SLVs, drones, or unmanned aerial vehicle systems capable of a range greater than or equal to 300 km or incorporating accelerometers specified in paragraph (e)(11) or gyroscopes or angular rate sensors specified in paragraph (e)(12) of this category that are designated MT); |
| (2) | Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiving equipment, as follows: |
| (i) | GNSS receiving equipment specially designed for military applications (MT if designed or modified for airborne applications and capable of providing navigation information at speeds in excess of 600 m/s); |
| (ii) | Global Positioning System (GPS) receiving equipment specially designed for encryption or decryption (e.g., Y-Code, M-Code) of GPS protected positioning service (PPS) signals (MT if designed or modified for airborne applications); |
| (iv) | GNSS receiving equipment specially designed for use with rockets, missiles, SLVs, drones, or unmanned air vehicle systems capable of delivering at least a 500 kg payload to a range of at least 300 km (MT); |
| (3) | GNSS anti-jam systems specially designed for use with an antenna described in Category XI(c)(10); |
| (4) | Mobile relative gravimeters having automatic motion compensation with an in-service accuracy of less (better) than 0.4 mGal (MT if designed or modified for airborne or marine use and having a time to steady-state registration of two minutes or less); |
| (5) | Mobile gravity gradiometers having an accuracy of less (better) than 10 Eotvos squared per radian per second for any component of the gravity gradient tensor, and having a spatial gravity wavelength resolution of 50 m or less (MT if designed or modified for airborne or marine use); |
| (6) | Developmental guidance or navigation systems funded by the Department of Defense (MT if designed or modified for rockets, missiles, SLVs, drones, or unmanned aerial vehicle systems capable of a range equal to or greater than 300 km). |
| (e) | Parts, components, accessories, or attachments, as follows: |
| (1) | Parts and components specially designed for articles described in paragraph (a)(1) or (a)(5) of this category; |
| (2) | Lasers specially designed for articles in this subchapter; |
| (3) | Laser stacked arrays specially designed for articles in this subchapter; |
| (4) | Night vision or infrared cameras (e.g., camera core) specially designed for articles in this subchapter; |
| (5) | Infrared focal plane arrays specially designed for articles in this subchapter; |
| (6) | Charge multiplication focal plane arrays exceeding 50 mA/W for any wavelength exceeding 760 nm and specially designed for articles described in this subchapter; |
| (7) | Second generation and greater image intensifier tubes specially designed for articles in this subchapter, and specially designed parts and components therefor; |
| (8) | Parts and components specially designed for articles described in paragraph (c)(3), (c)(4), (c)(5) or (c)(6)(vi)-(vii) of this category; |
| (9) | Inertial measurement units specially designed for articles in this subchapter (MT for systems incorporating accelerometers specified in paragraph (e)(11) or gyroscopes or angular rate sensors specified in paragraph (e)(12) that are designated MT); |
| (10) | GNSS security devices (e.g., Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Modules (SAASM), Security Modules (SM), and Auxiliary Output Chips (AOC)); |
| (11) | Accelerometers having a bias repeatability of less (better) than 10 µg and a scale factor repeatability of less (better) than 10 parts per million, or capable of measuring greater than 100,000 g (MT); |
| (12) | Gyroscopes or angular rate sensors as follows: |
| (i) | Having an angle random walk of less (better) than 0.001 degrees per square root hour; or |
| (ii) | Mechanical gyroscopes or rate sensors having a bias repeatability less (better) than 0.0015 degrees per hour (MT if having a rated drift stability of less than 0.5 degrees (1 sigma or rms) per hour in a 1 g environment or specified to function at acceleration levels greater than 100 g); |
| (13) | Optical sensors having a spectral filter specially designed for systems or equipment controlled in USML Category XI(a)(4), or optical sensor assemblies that provide threat warning or tracking for systems or equipment controlled in Category XI(a)(4); |
| (14) | Infrared focal plane array read-out integrated circuits (ROICs) specially designed for articles in this subchapter; |
| (15) | Integrated dewar cooler assemblies specially designed for articles in this subchapter, with or without an infrared focal plane array, and specially designed parts and components therefor; |
| (16) | Gimbals specially designed for articles in this category; |
| (17) | Infrared focal plane array Joule-Thomson (JT) self-regulating cryostats specially designed for articles controlled in this subchapter; |
| (18) | Infrared lenses, mirrors, beam splitters or combiners, filters, and treatments and coatings, specially designed for articles controlled in this category; |
| (19) | Drive, control, signal, or image processing electronics, specially designed for articles controlled in this category; |
| (20) | Near-to-eye displays (e.g., micro-displays) specially designed for articles controlled in this category; |
| (21) | Resonators, receivers, transmitters, modulators, gain media, drive electronics, and frequency converters, specially designed for laser systems controlled in this category; |
| (22) | Two-dimensional infrared scene projector emitter arrays (i.e., resistive arrays) specially designed for infrared scene generators controlled in USML Category IX(a)(10); |
| (23) | Any part, component, accessory, attachment, or associated equipment, that: SME |
| (i) | Is classified; |
| (ii) | Contains classified software; |
| (iv) | Is being developed using classified information. |
| (24) | Developmental image intensifier tubes, focal plane arrays, read-out-integrated circuits, accelerometers, gyroscopes, angular rate sensors, and inertial measurement units funded by the Department of Defense (MT if designed or modified for rockets, missiles, SLVs, drones, or unmanned aerial vehicle systems capable of a range equal to or greater than 300 km). |
| (f) | Technical data (see § 120.33 of this subchapter) and defense services (see § 120.32 of this subchapter) directly related to the defense articles described in paragraphs (a) through (e) of this category and classified technical data directly related to items controlled in ECCNs 7A611, 7B611, and 7D611. (See § 125.4 for exemptions.) (MT for technical data and defense services related to articles designated as such.) |
| (g) | -(w) [Reserved] |
| (x) | Commodities, software, and technology subject to the EAR used in or with defense articles controlled in this category. |
Source: eCFR, version
2026-08-01, retrieved
2026-08-20T04:08:36+00:00.