Heavy-metal fluoride glasses offer substantial promise for mid-infrared and multispectral optical components such as laser windows, IR-domes, laser hosts and infrared fiber optics. Potential uses for IR-transmitting fibers, for example, include nuclear radiation-resistant links, ultra-long repeaterless communications links, remoting of IR sensor focal planes, and medical applications such as surgery and cauterization. The fluoride glasses developed to date possess continuous high transparency from the near-UV to the mid-IR, as well as low refractive index (≈1.5) and low material dispersion. In this paper, we update some of our previous comparative studies of fluorozirconate and fluorohafnate glasses. Recent results concerning the visible to infrared refractive index and material dispersion of fluoride glasses are also presented, along with preliminary optical data on new fluoride compositions which do not contain zirconium or hafnium fluoride.