page_title: Laser designator
section_title: Ground-based
hierarchical_section_title: Laser designator / Deployment / Ground-based
caption_attribution_description: JEONJU, Republic of Korea -- A tactical air controller, commonly known as a "TAC-P," aims a laser target designator on a simulated target July 12 southeast of this city. The laser beam is only detectable by night vision, and aids pilots by illuminating a target without the enemy knowing. The night-time exercise is part of a week-long training session between TAC-Ps, joint terminal attack controllers from the 604th Air Support Operations Squadron and pilots from both the 35th and 80th Fighter Squadrons, based at Kunsan Air Base, ROK. The training runs through July 13. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Steven R. Doty)
context_page_description: A laser designator is a laser light source which is used to designate a target. Laser designators provide targeting for laser-guided bombs, missiles, or precision artillery munitions, such as the Paveway series of bombs, AGM-114 Hellfire, or the M712 Copperhead round, respectively.
  When a target is marked by a designator, the beam is invisible and does not shine continuously. Instead, a series of coded pulses of laser light are fired. These signals bounce off the target into the sky, where they are detected by the seeker on the laser-guided munition, which steers itself towards the centre of the reflected signal. Unless the people being targeted possess laser detection equipment or can hear aircraft overhead, it is extremely difficult for them to determine if they are being marked. Laser designators work best in clear atmospheric conditions. Cloud cover, rain or smoke can make reliable designation of targets difficult or impossible unless a simulation is accessible through available ground data.
context_section_description: 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. 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. Pakistan Army uses home made laser designator LDR-4.
caption: USAF handheld laser beam as seen under night vision, 2007
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