Searchlight tower

The searchlight towers (called spotlight towers in the Tiberian Sun game data), or more simply light towers, were a common, simple structure designed as an outpost and a watchtower.
== Overview ==
This design originated in the Second Tiberium War, and was essentially an elevated, enclosed platform with searchlights on a concrete base. Its primary role was the surveillance of a given area and alarming the base of any incursions; if an enemy unit goes near a searchlight tower, it will lock its spotlight on this unit, following its movements and marking it.  
It also doubled as a garrisonable building in the Third Tiberium War around some abandoned GDI bases and the Pentagon.
Light Towers would also sometimes form part of a landing pad for dropships, activating their lights in a circular pattern to illuminate the landing area when a dropship is coming in to land.
== Appearances ==
Light Towers appear frequently as enemy structures. As player-owned structures, they only appear in one mission in each of the two main campaigns and once in the GDI campaign in Firestorm:
* Reinforce Phoenix Base - the GDI base had two Light Towers at the gate.
* Sheep's Clothing - the captured GDI base had one Light Tower at each of the two entrances and would sound an alarm if an enemy unit was spotted.
* Escape from CABAL (GDI) - there was a Light Tower at the landing zone within the GDI outpost where the MCV was dropped.
Light Towers are not buildable without modding, though they do have an animation for build up and selling as well as a sidebar icon, indicating the possibility that they were intended to be buildable at some point in development. If constructed through modding then the spotlight will by default oscillate in a northeast-facing arc.
==Gallery==
File:Searchlight_tower_animation_2.gif|Buildup animation
CnC3 GDI Searchlight tower in game.png|GDI Searchlight tower during Third Tiberium War
Searchlight tower in Snow Theater.jpg|In snow theater
Category:Tiberian Sun support structures