Honda's Collision Mitigation Brake System (CMS), for example, uses a forward-looking millimetre-wave radar to scan the road ahead.

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The hi-tech plane - which has radar equipment that can scan thousands of square miles in minutes - flew missions over Libya in 2011 as rebels fought to oust Col Gaddafi.

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The Qabala radar facility in the north of Azerbaijan is leased by the Russian military and can scan the Indian Ocean, the Middle East and most of North Africa.

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When advanced radar and drone coverage is not available, warfighters typically rely on their own vision to scan their surroundings.

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