Long-range laser communication terminals: Technically interesting, commercially incalculable

Carl Zeiss Optronics is a manufacturer of electro-optical devices for military and security applications. Ultra-precise stabilized pan-tilt heads for armored land vehicles, ships, planes and helicopters are in the portfolio as well as precise optics for space observation and space laser communication terminals LCTs. 2008 Carl Zeiss Optronics started building terminal-pairs for terrestrial, airborne and under-water laser communication demonstrators. This paper discusses the technical challenges as well as commercial and market volume estimations.