G'day Helmet et al,
'useless for searching' isn't intended as a wind-up and I agree with your points; a successful search can be perfromed under the conditions you described. The point I didn't expand is that IMHO the NVG should be used to get the A/C, crew and other assets to the scene, on job without contacting the ground or other obstacles.
If it is a search job, by a dedicated SAR A/C then it should be suitably equipped with day/night camera, FLIR, RF locator or similar devices to complete the search. All of the tools should come together. If the NVG are assumed to be good enough to search, and they are the primary search tool, then a lot of hours will be wasted and a lot of missions will fail when nothing is found. Having recently used the latest gen FLIR (technology, not brand) I am sold on the kit! I haven't used current gen NVG, and would like to see the improvement over the Omnibus III.
As I said, my observation is that the tool is great, but not a panacea. A step forward for the industry! A good topic for beers I think.
Gibbo