LED lighting device compatible with night vision devices

A lighting device for illuminating a control panel or a display with light that does not interfere with operation of a night vision device whose spectral sensitivity is in a range of wavelengths above 600 nm, comprising:

• a primary light source in form of one or more white LEDs whose emitted light is in an area of the u′v′ diagram of the CIE-LUV color space system above u′>0.19 and v′>0.46;
• and
• an NIR filter in the near infrared comprising an absorbing filter glass in form of a volume filter having a descending light transmission characteristic between 500 nm and 800 nm and having a thickness that provides for a sufficient blocking effect in a range of wavelengths between 600 nm and 800 nm so that the NIR filter and the one or more white LED's produce filtered light whose color coordinates are in an area with a radius of 0.04 around coordinates u′=0.19 and v′=0.49 of the u′v′ diagram of the CIE-LUV color space system.