This 17 May 1988 image shows peak Cold War frogmen foreshadowing the role they would increasingly carry out in the Sandbox for the next 30 years.
Dig that chocolate chip camo! U.S. Navy Photo DN-ST-8902888 by PH2 Jeffrey Loshaw
Official caption: Two Sea-Air-Land (SEAL) team members, one equipped with an AN/PAQ-1 laser target designator, right, the other armed with an M14 rifle, assume a defensive position after assaulting the beach during an amphibious demonstration for the 14th Annual Inter-American Naval Conference.
The AN/PAQ-1 Laser Target Designator (LTD) was developed by Hughes Aircraft in the 1960s and 1970s, reaching IOC around 1979.
The chunky 16-pound infrared laser rangefinder/designator could either obtain target range or paint a target for early “smart” munitions like the Copperhead 155mm shell, Hellfire and Maverick missiles, and Paveway guided bombs.
Either shoulder or tripod-mounted, the LTD was shipped in a 64-pound transit case with accessories to include the designator, four battery-shoulder stocks, and a cleaning kit.
One of the devices is in the Smithsonian.
The 175-page 1980 U.S. Army TM is here.
Of note, the current AN/PED-1 Lightweight Laser Designator Rangefinder (LLDR) incorporates a thermal imager, day camera, laser designator spot imaging, electronic display, eye-safe laser rangefinder, digital magnetic compass, Selective Availability/Anti-Spoofing Module Global Positioning System (SAASM GPS) and digital export capability. With batteries for a 24-hour mission, it weighs 29.5-pounds. The Army is currently working on a better, and lighter, model.