Forward looking infrared
![A Thales Damocles FLIR Targeting Pod.](/Images/godic/202501/14/NAVFLIR_DAMOCLES_P12208700320.jpg")
![FLIR imagery from a U.S. Navy helicopter: Alleged drug traffickers are being arrested by Colombian naval forces.](/Images/godic/202501/14/Flickr_-_Official_U.S._Navy_Imagery_-_Alleged_drug_traffickers_are_arrested_by_Colombian_naval_forces.0320.jpg")
![A FLIR pod on a French Air Force helicopter](/Images/godic/202501/14/FLIR_monté_sur_Eurocopter_AS350_Écureuil_AS-555_Fennec_de_l'Armée_de_l'Air0320.jpg")
![A FLIR system on a U.S. Air Force helicopter during search and rescue operation](/Images/godic/202501/14/FLIR_used_during_search_and_rescue_operation0320.jpg")
Forward looking infrared (FLIR) cameras, typically used on military and civilian aircraft, use a thermographic camera that senses infrared radiation.
The sensors installed in forward-looking infrared cameras—as well as those of other thermal imaging cameras—use detection of infrared radiation, typically emitted from a heat source (thermal radiation), to create a "picture" assembled for video output.