Autonomous Robotic Droids Seek and Destroy

I know I posted recently about the Predator drone killin' some Iraqi baddies, but that was a picnic compared to this! "Robotic warplanes, finding and attacking targets by themselves, have been successfully tested. "

In early August, two American Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs), the X-45A, successfully detected, avoided, and destroyed an "enemy" anti-aircraft installtion, along with autonomously taking-off and landing.

The main purpose of this vehicle is to test and hone the control and combat systems for the larger  X-45C UCAV which is slotted for active service in five years or so.

The advantages of such a system over a traditional air combat system are numerous, including faster processing than a human, more maneuverability (don't have to worry about G-forces), and smaller sizes.

"The X-45C has a combat radius of 2,300 kilometers, or can go out 1,800 kilometers, hang around for two hours, and return." It has a 49 ft (15m) wingspan and is 39 ft (12m) long.

You can find photos of the X-45A on everyone's favorite Google Image Search, and on NASA's website.