Kollsman tapped to build pocket-sized laser target designator for Marine Corps infantrymen

QUANTICO MARINE BASE, Va., 13 March 2011. Leaders of the U.S. Marine Corps are asking Kollsman Inc., an Elbit Systems of America company in Merrimack, N.H., to design and build a pocket-size laser target designator and marker to enable Marines in the field to designate targets for laser-guided bombs, missiles, and other munitions.The Marine Corps System Command at Quantico Marine Base, Va., awarded Kollsman a $9.6 million contract Friday to build the Joint Terminal Attack Controller Laser Target Designator (JTAC LTD) to meet an urgent universal need, Marine Corps officials say. The JTAC LTD is a lightweight, battery-powered laser target designator and marker small enough to fit in a Marine Corps infantryman's flack jacket pocket.The system, which Marine Corps leaders say capitalizes on some of the latest advances in laser generation and battery power technologies, enables Marines to provide precision terminal guidance for laser-guided missiles, bombs, and other munitions that are homing in on enemy targets.

The contract calls for Kollsman engineers to build three first article units, 150 production units of the JTAC LTD, as well as spares and training. The JTAC LTD gives Marines fighting on foot a laser-guided weapons designation and marking capability that can be worn in modular lightweight load-carrying equipment (MOLLE) pouches on flak jackets, or carried in cargo pockets.

The JTAC LTD marks targets for laser handoff to laser spot trackers (LSTs), and to designate targets by providing terminal guidance to U.S. and NATO laser-guided weapons. It emits a 1,064-nanometer laser to provide terminal guidance to laser-guided munitions, as well as a 810-to-870-nanometer laser that acts as an infrared pointer.

The unit is rugged enough for all modes of air, land, and sea transport, and can be carried by Marines during parachute, swimming, and underwater operations. The Marine Corps JTAC LTD is not intended to replace full-power laser target designators like the AN/PEQ-17 portable lightweight designator rangefinder (PLDR).

Kollsman will do the work on this contract in Merrimack, N.H., should be finished by March 2016. For more information contact Kollsman online at www.kollsman.com, or Marine Corps Systems Command at www.marines.mil/unit/marcorsyscom.