Kyle Mizokami

The hunger for these engines comes from their use in at least two major conflicts, while America and its allies are also stockpiling weapons for future wars.

The Kiev-class carriers were an ambitious attempt to give Russia a powerful ship capable of taking on American aircraft carriers while at the same time hunting down submarines that posed a threat to the Soviet homeland. Because responsibilities were split between two vastly different, their ability to do either was severely curtailed.

In May 1941, the German battleship Bismarck proved formidable, sinking HMS Hood and damaging Prince of Wales while evading pursuit across the North Atlantic.

In a September 1965 test, a YF-12 successfully launched a quarter-kiloton atomic missile, from an altitude of 75,000 feet at Mach 3.26.

The Soviet Union had ambitious plans to build a powerful aircraft carrier fleet but never fully realized these goals. Despite attempts dating back to the 1920s, projects like Izmail, Project 71, and the supercarrier Ulyanovsk remained incomplete due to competing military priorities and economic constraints.

In 1921, U.S. Army General Billy Mitchell led Project B, a revolutionary military exercise demonstrating the power of aerial warfare over naval forces. Using bombers, Mitchell's First Provisional Air Brigade sank the "unsinkable" German battleship Ostfriesland and other vessels, proving aircraft could destroy battleships.

The world of aircraft carriers faces two vexing problems: a shortage of planes and a shortage of the carriers themselves. Drones may have just solved both.

The vehicle the Army calls the “Combat Arm of Decision” keeps evolving to overcome every new threat thrown in its path.

Considering China's history of hacking and reverse-engineering American military technologies, the truth could be complicated.

While the FBI says a recent spate of drone sightings over New Jersey don't pose a threat to national security, the event is a stark reminder that drone warfare could one day reach America.