Ethical debates about their use aside, unmanned military drones are getting more and more impressive.
And the US Navy's X-47B unmanned combat air system has claim to being the coolest of them all.
This fighter jet-sized unmanned plane is no mere reconnaissance drone. It's actually more equivalent in scale and ability to a true fighter plane, and now it's got a new trick up its sleeve - landing on aircraft carriers.
The Navy announced on Wednesday that it has successfully landed the X-47B on a carrier for the first time.
The advance means it will soon be able to launch drones without needing permission from other countries to use their airbases.
The craft took off from Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland before approaching the USS George H.W. Bush, which is located close to Virginia.
It landed with the use of a tailhook which caught a wire on the ship - just as fighter jets do currently. This kind of 'arrested landing' has only been performed by a jet on land previously, which is easier since the ship is constantly moving during landing.
"Your grandchildren and great grandchildren and mine will be reading about this historic event in their history books. This is not trivial, nor is it something that came lightly," said Rear Admiral Mat Winter, program executive officer for unmanned aviation and strike weapons for the US Navy.
Take a look at more pictures below.
X47B
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Open Image ModalThis image provided by the US navy shows sailors moving an X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator onto an aircraft elevator aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush Tuesday, May 14, 2013. The drone was launched off the George H.W. Bush to be the first aircraft carrier to catapult launch an unmanned aircraft from its flight deck. (AP Phioto/U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Timothy Walter) (credit:AP)
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Open Image ModalThis image provided by the US navy shows the launch of an X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush offf the coast of Virginia Tuesday may 14, 2013 (CVN 77). George H.W. Bush is the first aircraft carrier to successfully catapult launch an unmanned aircraft from its flight deck. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy,Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Tony D. Curtis) (credit:AP)
catapult launch an unmanned aircraft from its flight(03 of14)
Open Image ModalAn image provided by the US navy shows sailors moving an X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) at dawn aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush Tuesday, May 14, 2013. The drone was launched off the George H.W. Bush to be the first aircraft carrier to catapult launch an unmanned aircraft from its flight deck. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Timothy Walter) (credit:AP)
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Open Image ModalA X47-B navy drone grabs the wire as it lands aboard the nuclear aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush off the Coast of Virginia Wednesday, July 10, 2013. It is the first landing by a drone on a Navy carrier. The landing of the X-47B experimental aircraft means the Navy can move forward with its plans to develop another unmanned aircraft that will join the fleet alongside traditional airplanes to provide around-the-clock surveillance while also possessing a strike capability. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) (credit:AP)
(05 of14)
Open Image ModalNavy crew members manually list the tailhook of A X47-B Navy after it landed aboard the nuclear aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush off the Coast of Virginia Wednesday, July 10, 2013. It is the first landing by a drone on a Navy carrier. The landing of the X-47B experimental aircraft means the Navy can move forward with its plans to develop another unmanned aircraft that will join the fleet alongside traditional airplanes to provide around-the-clock surveillance while also possessing a strike capability.(AP Photo/Steve Helber) (credit:AP)
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Open Image ModalA X47-B navy drone grabs the wire as it lands aboard the nuclear aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush off the Coast of Virginia Wednesday, July 10, 2013. It is the first landing by a drone on a Navy carrier. The landing of the X-47B experimental aircraft means the Navy can move forward with its plans to develop another unmanned aircraft that will join the fleet alongside traditional airplanes to provide around-the-clock surveillance while also possessing a strike capability. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) (credit:AP)
(07 of14)
Open Image ModalA X47-B Navy drone approaches the deck as it lands aboard the nuclear aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush off the Coast of Virginia Wednesday, July 10, 2013. It is the first landing by a drone on a Navy carrier. The landing of the X-47B experimental aircraft means the Navy can move forward with its plans to develop another unmanned aircraft that will join the fleet alongside traditional airplanes to provide around-the-clock surveillance while also possessing a strike capability. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) (credit:AP)
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Open Image ModalFILE- In this Feb. 4, 2011 photo released by the U.S. Navy and Northrup Grumman, the navy X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration aircraft successfully completes its historic first flight at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. A new United Nations draft report posted online this week objects to the use of weapons systems like the X-47B that can attack targets without any human input. The report for the U.N. Human Rights Commission deals with legal and philosophical issues involved in giving robots lethal powers over humans, echoing countless science-fiction novels and films. (AP Photo/Alan Radecki, Northrup Grumman, Navy) (credit:AP)
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Open Image ModalA Navy X-47B drone does a fly buy the nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush after it was launched off the coast of Virginia, Tuesday, May 14, 2013. The plane isn't intended for operational use, but it will be used to help develop other unmanned, carrier-based aircraft. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) (credit:AP)
The X-47B conducts a test launch.(10 of14)
Open Image Modal (credit:Flickr:Official U.S. Navy Imagery)
X-47B(11 of14)
Open Image ModalThe X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System demonstrator taxies Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012 on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman. The X-47B is a tailless, strike fighter-sized unmanned aircraft currently under development by Northrop Grumman as part of the U.S. Navys Unmanned Combat Air System Carrier Demonstration program. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Northrop Grumman Corp., Alan Radecki) (credit:AP)
X-47B(12 of14)
Open Image ModalThe X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator taxies Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012 on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the Atlantic Ocean. Harry S. Truman is the first aircraft carrier to host test operations for an unmanned aircraft. The X-47B is a tailless, strike fighter-sized unmanned aircraft currently under development by Northrop Grumman as part of the U.S. Navyís Unmanned Combat Air System Carrier Demonstration program. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy courtesy of Northrop Grumman Corp., Alan Radecki) (credit:AP)
X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS)(13 of14)
Open Image Modal (credit:Flickr:Dysanovic)
X47B(14 of14)
Open Image Modal (credit:Northrop Grumman)
The Northrop Grumman-designed X-47B is designed as a fully-capable complement to existing manned fighter jets.
The plane is very large, with a wingspan of 62.1 feet, and has a strange design without tapered flat wings.
Instead it has a bulged, muscular look and an air-intake slit at the front which currently glows red, making the craft look like - in the words of Wired magazine - "a Cylon Raider from Battlestar: Galactica".
The main definition point of the craft - not to be confused with the Navy's (also terrifying) X37B space plane - is that it would be far more easily programmable than current drones. Instead of complex remote controls it could fly itself on a pre-defined course, while correcting for mistakes and weather.