I have no doubt that Pulsar will soon start selling thermal riflescopes with a 17 micron sensor - but it will be 384x288 and not 640x480.
I don't know why you say that the quality of the WT series of thermal riflescopes is far from impressive. Clive Ward gives a warranty of 3 years with them, and that's at least as good , if not better than the Pulsars.
I have a 75 mm 640x480 17 micron thermal riflescope (same as the WT75-6) which I purchased directly from the manufacturer in China around one year ago and it has fantastic performance, has been absolutely reliable and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone looking to purchase a thermal riflescope - it's simply in a different league from the current Pulsar Apex thermal riflescopes
ATN are now selling high refresh rate 640x480 core thermal riflescopes in the UK (and therefore Europe) and they can do this because the scopes are built in China and imported directly into Europe without touching US soil therefore not contravening the ITAR regulations.
However, ATN do not have a great reputation in the UK after the hype and subsequent poor performance of the X Sight digital riflescope.
Cheers
Bruce