Look under the nose of almost any military unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), and you'll see a ball turret, mounted so its various sensors and emitters can pitch up and down and rotate in a full circle. Many of these turrets now house several instruments: one or two electro-optical cameras for daylight, an infrared camera for night, and one or more laser sensors, such as a rangefinder or target designator. Controlled by a human operator - in a nearby aircraft or in a ground center half a world away - the turrets gather information and pass it on via line-of-sight radio or satellite links.
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