To be fair to the US, the average infantryman in general at least has a PVS14 and a weapon mounted optic. Sometimes, we will see thermals being used by them. As far as I know, the average PLA infantryman doesn’t even have an optic and a monocular nod, and the digital monocular nod’s are being distributed in limited quantities.
Availability of night vision equipment does
not necessarily translate to significant or impactful night warfighting capabilities.
While America's 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions like to publicize their periodic
and
, respectively, conventional US infantry are
not generally speaking intended or adequately trained for
offensive night operations.
Since the initial US invasion of Iraq in 2003, offensive night operations has largely been the exclusive domain of SOCOM, which number in the low, if not very low tens of thousands in terms of "shooters."
The distribution volume of ENVG-B to the US Army is just over 18,000 units and 28,000 worldwide, according to L3Harris, which is still far from the "standard issue" (Reasonable, cause it is expensive).
Industry insiders and manufacturers have revealed that the PLA always been purchasing and testing these equipment in small batches. And PLA has apparently issued more standard thermal sights and recon equipment in recent year.
The real advantage that the US has over China in night combat isn't the quality or quantity of kit, but experience.
While most American infantry are as unprepared to fight at night as their Chinese counterparts, there's a small segment, mostly guys bearing green and tan berets, with a ton of experience fighting at night because that's effectively what many of them specialized in during multiple deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and elsewhere.
The only way to replicate and surpass such institutional experience (especially sans expensive, albeit hapless COIN campaigns) is to subject PLA infantry and SOF formations, intended for night combat, to a
disproportionate and
stressful, if not outright
unpleasant volume and variety of field exercises in the dark for years, if not decades to come.