A laser lead designator for guiding a laser guided weapon (LGW) to strike a moving target includes a laser source for providing a laser beam and a controller coupled to receive a position and a velocity of the moving target. The controller provides a control signal for pointing the laser beam a specified lead distance ahead of the position of the moving target to position a laser spot on a ground location ahead of the moving target. The lead distance compensates for an impact shortfall value that is a function of at least one shortfall parameter including a speed of the moving target so that the LGW shortfalls the laser spot on the moving target. The laser designator is separate from the LGW.