ERDI LDR20K1 1064nm Laser Rangefinder & Designator for UAV and Ground Applications

CONTROL FUNCTIONS

The laser rangefinder/designator can perform the following control functions through a serial interface:

• Respond to a laser ranging command and stop ranging at any time upon receiving a stop command;
• Output one set of range data and status information for each pulse during ranging;
• Support range gating during ranging;
• Automatically stop ranging after 5 minutes (at 1 Hz) or 1 minute (at 5 Hz) if no stop command is received after continuous ranging is initiated;
• Allow configuration of designation mode and code;
• Respond to a laser designation command, perform designation according to the preset mode and code, and stop designation at any time upon receiving a stop command;
• Automatically stop designation after completing one cycle if no stop command is received;
• Output one set of range data and status information for each pulse during laser designation;
• Perform power-on self-test and periodic self-test, and output status information;
• Respond to a self-test command and output status information;
• Report the cumulative number of emitted laser pulses.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Electrical "three-proof" treatment: circuit boards shall receive conformal coating after design and debugging to provide three-proof protection.

ENVIRONMENTAL ADAPTABILITY REQUIREMENTS

MECHANICAL INTERFACE

(The mechanical interface defines the physical mounting and alignment requirements of the laser rangefinder/designator. Details such as mounting holes, reference surfaces, and alignment axes should be specified according to the system integration design.)

Unit: mm

PIN INTERFACE

Electrical Interface

Communication interface: RS422

Connector model and interface definition: see Table 1.

Connector: MOLEX 53048-0810

Mating plug: MOLEX 51021-0800

Table 1 — Electrical Interface Definition (TTL)

External trigger interface:

Figure  — Electrical Interface Diagram

LDR20K1 20 mJ 1064 nm Laser Target Designator/Rangefinder Module

The LDR20K1 is a compact 20 mJ laser target designator and rangefinder module designed for airborne platforms and other mission-critical electro-optical systems that demand high reliability and precise engagement of laser-guided munitions. It measures target distance and provides coded laser designation within a single integrated unit, featuring small size, low mass, long effective range and strong environmental adaptability for harsh flight and vehicle environments.

Based on a diode-pumped 1064 nm solid-state laser, the LDR20K1 delivers ≥ 20 mJ pulse energy with ≤ 0.6 mrad beam divergence and a pulse width of 10 ± 5 ns, while maintaining laser optical-axis stability within 0.05 mrad. Its ranging performance includes single-shot and continuous modes at 1 Hz and 5 Hz, with a measurement range from ≤ 300 m to ≥ 3,000 m, ±1 m range accuracy and a valid acquisition rate of at least 98%, supporting both first-target and last-target logic for complex scenes such as cluttered backgrounds or partially obscured targets.

For weapon guidance, the module offers precise frequency-coded laser designation with a fundamental designation frequency of 20 Hz and code timing accuracy of 2.5 µs. Short-cycle designation supports ≥ 20 s active time with ≤ 30 s interval for up to 8 consecutive cycles, while long-cycle designation provides ≥ 47 s active time, also with ≤ 30 s interval, for up to 2 cycles; after completing a designation sequence, a cooldown interval of at least 30 minutes is required before restarting continuous designation. The coding scheme uses precise frequency codes with eight pre-stored periodic patterns and supports user-defined code expansion and external synchronization signals to match specific weapon system requirements.

The LDR20K1 is engineered for easy integration into UAV EO/IR gimbals, targeting pods, stabilized turrets and other opto-electronic payloads. The mechanical envelope is ≤ 92 mm × 67 mm × 53 mm, and the module mass is ≤ 290 g, making it well-suited for SWaP-constrained platforms. Power requirements are equally straightforward: average operating power consumption is ≤ 55 W with a peak of ≤ 100 W, over a 20–28 V input range, and all circuit boards receive conformal coating (“three-proof” treatment) for protection against moisture, dust and corrosive environments.

To support long-term field use, the module is qualified over an operating temperature range of −40 °C to +55 °C and storage from −45 °C to +70 °C. It withstands swept-frequency sinusoidal vibration from 15 Hz to 33 Hz at 0.91 mm amplitude and from 33 Hz to 700 Hz at 2 g, for 1 hour per axis in three orthogonal directions, as well as multi-axis shock loads ≥ 10 g with post-peak sawtooth waveforms of 11 ms duration, ensuring stable performance under aircraft take-off/landing and vehicle transport conditions.

Control and data exchange are implemented via a standard RS-422 serial interface using an 8-pin MOLEX 53048-0810 connector (mating plug 51021-0800), with +24 V power input, differential TX/RX pairs, and an external trigger input for synchronized firing. The communication link operates at 115200 bps, 8 data bits, 1 start bit, 1 stop bit, no parity, with LSB-first byte order. The rich command set includes self-test, single and continuous ranging, short/long/single-cycle designation, stop command, range-gate and target-selection configuration, laser code read/write and cumulative pulse count query, while the module continuously reports range and status data for each emission pulse and can perform power-on and periodic self-tests.