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. 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 but have a 1064 nm window in which they can see-spot the laser.
Airborne The
U.S. Air Force selected the
Lockheed Martin's
Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP) in 2004. It equipped multiple USAF platforms such as the
F-16,
F-15E,
B-1,
B-52, and
A-10C. It also operates on multiple international fighter platforms. The
U.S. Navy currently employ
LITENING and
ATFLIR targeting pods on a variety of strike aircraft. The Litening II is widely used by many other of the world's air forces. The United Kingdom's
Royal Air Force uses the Litening III system and the French use the
TALIOS (Targeting Long-range Identification Optronic System),
Damocles and
ATLIS II.
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
Joint Terminal Air Controllers and
Marine Corps Forward Air Controllers typically employ a lightweight device, such as the AN/PED-1 Lightweight Laser Designator Rangefinder (LLDR), permitting them to designate targets for
Close Air Support aircraft flying overhead and in close proximity to friendly forces. While many designators are binocular-based and may utilize tripods, smaller handheld laser designators, like the B.E. Meyers & Co. IZLID 1000P exist as well. Northrop Grumman's LLDR, using an eye-safe laser wavelength, recognizes targets, finds the range to a target, and fixes target locations for laser-guided, GPS-guided, and conventional munitions. This lightweight, interoperable system uniquely provides range finding and targeting information to other digital battlefield systems allowing the system to provide targeting information for non-guided munitions, or when laser designation is unreliable due to battlefield conditions. == Gallery ==