I thought the GAU mini gun was only mounted on aircraft of one mix or another — but this video convinced it was vehicle mounted..
Talk about a snarly ride!
I’m not so sure I like the two way visibility of lasers pointers on weapons.....
Couldn’t an enemy with simple gear see the sources - and fire on the sources?
Yes, an enemy with NV will see the IR laser. This is less common in Iraq than in Afghanistan. The use of IR lasers must be carefully measured, but in a free for all firefight like this one, against an enemy basically lacking NV, they are a huge force multiplier.
In the hinterboonies of Afghanistan, my understanding is they are used less often, because as you noted, the enemy who is wearing NV may be tipped off to your arrival. The IR spotlights are especially risky to use if the enemy has NV.
The IR lasers are also used as a terrific pointer for heavy weapons. A solder can aim his pointer at a single enemy firing hole, and a Bradley, say, can then put a big round right straight through that firing hole to explode inside.