Egypt sandbag HMG pit with NVG circa 1957

[Suhiir]

Originally Posted by Griefbringer

And they look impressive, which might have a morale effect.

Maybe for less trained troops or civilians.
Most machinegunners I know take the time to remove the things from the ammunition belts because they do a FAR better job revealing your position to the enemy then anything else.

For aircraft, helos, tanks, etc they usually just leave them in ... you'd have to be blind and deaf not not see or hear them