Night Spotting and Fighting

[metalbrew]

I'm not sure what I'm seeing. Whatever I'm seeing isn't consistent in regard to ranges and repeatability. I'm not saying the game is broken but I would like to develop a better sense of what I can expect. (After all, lack of consistency while spotting at night sounds believable to me)

I was playing a PBEM game and my opponent came roaring down the street in a Bradley. I had LoS down a long chute but didn't pick up the Bradley until about halfway down the chute, I'd estimate about 70m away. I was shocked, how could such a huge vehicle get halfway down this chute without me noticing? On the very next turn I was able to spot and decimate infantry 250m away down a different sight path.

So in the Bradley example, the potential spotting unit was a BMP-2. I realize the BMP-2 lacks sophisticated night fighting equipment. Is that a key to the short spotting distance?

In the infantry example, the spotting unit were Syrian infantry. Did 9 sets of eyes make spotting at night work at 250m where the BMP-2 failed at 70m?

I believe US infantry aren't equipped with NVG in the game, correct? I know the Bradley has IR gear but most of the Strykers (the IFV and CV models) don't seem to have this equipment, correct?

Do houses or streetlamps have any in-game effect on the ambient light available to spot units? For instance, infantry moving in front of a building may be silhouetted by lights inside the building. Is this modeled?