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As the role UAVs in the US military expands, the demands placed on these unmanned platforms grow as well. One of the most important new abilities these autonomous fliers must have is the ability to land atop a thin strip of tarmac rolling on the high seas. And that's just what the new Northrop Grumman X-47B will do. The X-47B is a tailless, demonstrator UAV developed by Northrop Grumman as part of the Navy's Unmanned Combat Air System Carrier Demonstration (UCAS-D) program though the X-47 project began as part of DARPA's J-UCAS initiative. The UCAS-D program aims to further remove humans, and their physiological shortcomings—like the need to sleep—from the low level drudgery of UAV missions. "It's smart enough for you to put really interesting contingencies" in the X-47B's way, Captain Jaime Engdahl, the Navy's program manager for its flying drones, told Danger Room . "It has the smarts to react to that condition." The X-47B is one of a pair...

Since the end of WWII, America's naval might has been undisputed and our aircraft carriers have been its crown jewels. However, the days of dominance could end with China's new DF-21D ballistic missile—the only device on Earth capable of sinking an aircraft carrier—four and a half acres of sovereign US territory—with one shot. The DF-21D (Dong-Feng 21 variant D) is the world's first and only anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM). It's a two stage, land-launched missile with a maximum estimated range of 2,700 to 3,000 km. Its single fuel-air explosive warhead packs 200 to 500 kilotons. It was developed by China Changfeng Mechanics and Electronics Technology Academy as part of the country's massive military modernization effort, an initiative focused primarily on developing overwhelming missile technologies for which there are no effective defenses. The Defense Department believes it entered active service around 2009. While the Chinese obviously aren't saying much...