No one will argue with the fact that practically every breakthrough in science, mankind, in one way or another, tried to apply in military affairs, even if not even directly, but indirectly. In 1916, Albert Einstein made the assumption of the existence of stimulated radiation, which was proved experimentally in 1928, and from that moment on, many scientists have chosen the study of this phenomenon as their main specialty. Let's skip a few decades and go straight to the mid-60s of the last century, when the so-called laser diodes were created. These compact elements significantly reduced the size of the laser, but at the same time its power was also reduced. And it would seem that it will be impossible to find a use for them, however, they are most widely used, laser rangefinders, CD / DVD drives, laser pointers, computer mice, barcode readers and many other devices that we encounter on a daily basis are used as the main working element is a laser diode. Similar lasers have found their application in military equipment. So, the measurement of the distance to the target in "promising shooting complexes" which is not created now unless lazy, is carried out with the help of such a laser. Portable missile guidance systems can also use similar lasers. Well, and the most common and well-known way of using such lasers are laser designators, which are widely used in a wide variety of weapons.
It is difficult to say with absolute certainty who exactly was the first to equip his weapon with a laser designator, oddly enough, but not only is there no information about this, but many do not even ask such a question. The main idea of using a laser for target designation was that the light beam in a homogeneous air environment is straight, that is, it practically corresponds to the trajectory of a bullet at short and medium distances, depending on the ammunition. So, the need for the use of open sights practically disappeared, and firing could be carried out from the most inconvenient positions, with a fairly high efficiency. But, nevertheless, the front sight and rear sight have not disappeared anywhere and still remain the main sighting devices in firearms. Let's try to figure out why a more convenient device could not replace the classic open sights, and why it still has not received widespread distribution.
First of all, you need to take into account the fact that a laser designator is an electrical device, and like any electrical device, it needs to take electrical energy from somewhere for its power supply. Sources of electric current, in recent years, have indeed become very compact, which allows the use of laser designators without significant changes in the overall dimensions of the weapon, but the weapon still increases in size, weight and, most importantly, changes its original shape. Thus, the equipment that was designed for the same pistol turns out to be unusable if the pistol is equipped with a laser targeting center, however, this is the smallest problem of using laser designators. As you know, most compact sources of electric current are based on a chemical reaction, and the rate of its course directly depends on the ambient temperature. Thus, at low temperatures, the chemical source of electrical current will simply stop working. But they also learned to deal with this, although the problem was not completely defeated. Even the fact that before using a laser designator it must be turned on cannot be considered the main problem of the not very widespread use of this device, since the inclusion of normal LCC options occurs automatically when the shooter covers the handle of the weapon. The main problem, why the laser designator did not replace open sights, lies in the people themselves, who do not trust their lives to a device that can fail at the most inopportune moment. Many people say that the laser target can fail with exactly the same probability as the weapon itself, so you should not be afraid of this. But if you add together the probability of a weapon failure, the probability of a laser designator failure, the probability that a defective cartridge will be caught, then all these small probabilities will turn into one big one. Therefore, it is quite logical to strive to remove from the total amount at least one component of what may, if not make firing impossible, cause a delay in firing. But to say that the laser designator is "absolute evil" is also impossible.
One of the main positive features of the laser designator is that it can significantly reduce the time between the removal of the weapon and the start of firing. However, with sufficiently long intensive training, a person with open sights can control no worse, or even better, but this is only if there is an opportunity to use them. Insufficient illumination, not the most successful shelter and dozens of factors can affect the accuracy of shooting with the use of open sights, making their use even more impossible, it is in such situations that the laser targeting system turns out to be very useful. The use of firearms for self-defense by civilians is generally a separate story, since most people do not have sufficiently developed skills in using open sights. In addition, we must not forget that a laser designator can be used quite successfully when practicing basic manipulations with weapons. So, many instructors note that when training a shooter who uses a laser designator beam to control the weapon at the time of its extraction and aiming at the target, observing the deviation of the weapon from the aiming point at the time of pressing the trigger and other manipulations, afterwards they show much more better results even without LCC than those who practiced without this device. Thus, the laser designator has both positive and negative qualities, just like any other device. Nevertheless, it is generally accepted that the LCC is a device that complements the main sighting devices of the weapon, but in no way is a completely independent aiming device.
A few words must also be said about what exactly are the options for laser designators. Generally speaking, the LCC can be divided into built-in and removable ones. Built-in laser designators are a rare phenomenon, since not all weapon manufacturers risk depriving the consumer of choice. Most often, built-in LCCs can be found in pistols, less often in certain models of submachine guns. Removable laser designators are produced for a wide variety of firearms and can be installed on virtually any sample that has a seat for this device. You can also divide the laser designators by the placement of the power button. So, laser designators, which have a power button on their body and do not have the ability to carry it to the handle or forend of the weapon, in my humble opinion, are absolutely unsuitable for use. If, however, the LCC is turned on automatically, as soon as the shooter's hand covers the handle of the weapon or the fore-end, with the help of a small power button taken out separately, then such samples have the right to life, and it does not matter whether they are built-in or removable. But this is purely my personal opinion. The most interesting point is the placement of the laser designator. In the dimensional samples of weapons, the LCU is mounted on seats that are either provided by the manufacturer or added by the owner of the weapon. With short-barreled weapons, everything is much more interesting. Traditional is the location of the laser target under the barrel, on a seat made in the frame of the weapon. But not all manufacturers limit themselves to a ready-made and familiar solution. So, you can find laser designators that are fixed on the safety bracket, on the casing-bolt, and even those that are screwed onto the barrel of the weapon or onto the guide rod of the return spring when it is located under the barrel. So you can find a wide variety of options, but it is easy to guess that the best options for attaching the LCC are the most common, otherwise they would not be common.
The most common is a variant of a laser designator, which uses as a basis a laser diode emitting in the range of 635-670 nm. These laser designators create a red spot on the surface and are the most common and simplest laser sighting options. Exactly the same on the device, but already with a wavelength of 405 nm, there are more rare laser designators, which designate the target with a violet spot. Much more expensive and already excellent in design are laser designators that indicate the target with a green spot. These LCCs are larger in size and more expensive, however, they have the advantage of a green spot, to which the human eye is more sensitive and able to distinguish it at a farther distance than red, even with the same power of the emitters. Separately, mention should be made of the lesser known type of laser designators, the mark of which cannot be seen with the naked eye. They work in the infrared range and can be distinguished only when using night vision devices and or devices specially designed for them, which, however, work in exactly the same way as night vision devices. Such LCCs allow you to use all the advantages of laser designators, while not giving yourself away with visible light to the enemy. These variants of LCC did not become widespread due to their specificity, but low distribution does not mean that they are not used.
Summing up all of the above, one cannot fail to notice that electronics is already firmly entering the world of firearms, but preference is still given to familiar and reliable devices like a hammer, which have repeatedly proven themselves as the only reliable in any conditions and under any circumstances. Of course, progress will not stand still, and sooner or later, not open sights, but something else will become the main ones. But I personally do not believe that the front sight and the rear sight will go away from the weapon forever, remaining, if not the main, then the spare sights in case of failure of the main sight. Actually, this can be confirmed by modern sniper rifles, which, in addition to a seat for an optical sight and other additional devices, are still equipped with an entire front sight, even if folding or removable. But in such a weapon, open sights were never originally the main ones.
