Laser designator
A laser designator is a
When a target is marked by a designator, the beam is invisible and does not shine continuously. Instead, a series of coded laser pulses, also called PRF codes (
Deployment
Laser designators may be mounted on aircraft, ground vehicles, naval vessels, or handheld. Depending on the wavelength of light used by the designator, the designation laser may or may not be visible to the personnel deploying it. This is the case with 1064 nm laser designators used by JTACs as that wavelength of light is difficult to see under standard Gen III/III+ night vision devices.[2] Other imaging devices with "see-spot" capabilities to "see" the laser spot are often utilized to make sure the target is being correctly designated. These may include FLIR (forward looking infrared) thermal imagers which normally operate in the MWIR or LWIR spectrum[3] but have a 1064 nm window in which they can see-spot the laser.[4]
Airborne
The
Ground-based
Many modern armed forces employ handheld laser designation systems. Examples include the AN/PEQ-1 SOFLAM of the United States, the Russian LPR series of handheld devices.
U.S. Air Force
Gallery
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The Soviet-era LPR-1 laser designator.
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The LPR-2 laser designator.
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The LPR-4 laser designator.
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The Lightweight Laser Designator Rangefinder.
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JGSDF Middle range Multi-Purpose missile laser designator.
See also
- Guidance system
- Laser sight
- List of laser articles
- List of military electronics of the United States
- Targeting pods
- AN/PEQ-1 SOFLAM
References
- ^ U.S. Marine Corps (4 April 2018). "MCTP 3-10F Fire Support Coordination in the Ground Combat Element" (PDF). Marines.mil. pp. Appendix K. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 July 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
- ^ "Differences between Gen3 and 4G image intensification technology" (PDF). Photonis Night Vision. October 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 May 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
- ^ "Thermal Camera Specs You Should Know Before Buying". FLIR.com. 18 December 2019. Archived from the original on 7 April 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
- S2CID 122190698. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
- ^ "Fact Sheet - LITENING II". 24 June 2003. Archived from the original on 24 June 2003.
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: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ fr:Pod Talios
- ^ "IZLID 1000P". B.E. Meyers & Co. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
- ^ "Lightweight Laser Designator Rangefinder (LLDR)" (PDF). Northrop Grumman. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 August 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
- ^ "Photo Release -- U.S. Army Awards Northrop Grumman Lightweight Laser Designator Rangefinders Delivery Order Valued at $142.7 Million (NYSE:NOC)". Archived from the original on 2010-03-25.
Further reading
- Lightweight Laser Designator Rangefinder Archived 2019-11-02 at the Wayback Machine, Northrop Grumman