A system for use in identifying one of an unmanned ground vehicle and an unmanned aerial vehicle includes a signal emitter associated with the unmanned vehicle. The signal emitter includes at least one quantum cascade laser. The signal emitter emits a signal having a wavelength between approximately 2 μm and approximately 30 μm, and the signal is detectable to identify the unmanned vehicle as friendly at a distance from the signal emitter greater than approximately 1 meter.