This short film from Hughes Aircraft gives viewers a look at the company’s ground laser locator designator (GLLD), the AN/TVQ-2 GLLD. A tank turret swivels as a tank gunner prepares to fire a shell. A forward observer locates a target with a GLLD and the hidden tank is able to fire at the target without firing any spotting rounds (00:48). Viewers see a laser (01:07), key to the development of the GLLD. The film then shows a AN/TVQ-2 Ground Laser Locator Designator (01:30). Two soldiers carry a GLLD and set it up for action. The forward observer uses the device to range on a target, an armored personnel carrier. The observer ranges then notifies his battery. When the round is fired, he pulls the trigger to send infrared pulses on the target for the laser homing munition. Illustrations and basic animation are used to present the several scenarios for GLLD use, including “Conventional Artillery Manual Fire Control” (03:55); “Conventional Artillery Computer Fire Control” (04:25)—GLLD signals a battery to fire on a tank; and Laser-Homing Munitions (05:13). The film shows a 155mm canon-launched projectile (05:55), a Hellfire Missile, the Air Force’s Maverick Missile, and the Marine Corps A-4 Angle Rate Bombing System. The film then covers how a target handoff to an aerial observer works with the GLLD (06:20), using illustrations and basic animations to show the relay of locating from the GLLD to a helicopter’s locating designator. Two soldiers operate a GLLD in the field (06:45). Viewers then see several tests using the AN/TVQ-2. In the “GLLD with TACFIRE Computer” test, a tank is fired on by a three-piece battery (06:54). Next is a test using a GLLD with a cannon-launched guided projectile (07:21); as a 155mm howitzer is loaded with a laser-guided projectile and fires on a stationary tank. The last test shows the howitzer firing on a moving tank. The film concludes with footage of the two soldiers in the field operating a GLLD, a howitzer firing a projectile, and a missile being fired from the air.
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.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
