In some embodiments, an identification and communication system described herein comprises one or more query units and one or more response units, wherein at least one query unit comprises a query beam source operable to emit a query beam and at least one response unit comprises at least one detector comprising an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) comprising an amplifier operable to amplify the query beam. In some embodiments, a system comprises one or more query units and one or more response units, wherein at least one response unit comprises at least one detector capable of detecting incident radiation having a power of about 100 pW or less. In some embodiments, a system comprises at least one component of a response unit disposed in a first housing mounted to a weapon and at least one component of a query unit disposed in a second housing mounted to the weapon.