The Global Hawk is a long endurance, high altitude unmanned plane.

The future of war is all about becoming invisible. Stealth technology characterises this through a combination of reduced infrared, acoustic, electromagnetic, and radar signatures. Stealth aircraft aren't just hard to detect with instruments, they are even difficult to see with the naked eye.

The manoeuvrability of a fighter aircraft can be compromised by stealth design features. Despite this reduced agility, the US Air Force believe that two F-117A stealth fighters are worth 75 non-stealth jets.

The first B-2 stealth bomber was publicly unveiled at Palmdale Air Force Base in California on November 22nd, 1988. With a range of 6,000 nautical miles, B-2s can cover the entire world from their base with just one in-flight refuel.

Today's battles have nothing to do with hand to hand combat, They are all about long-range missiles and stealth technology. Half the time you don't even need a person at the controls!

The RQ-4A Global Hawk is a high-altitude, unmanned aerial reconnaissance aircraft - flying at altitudes of 65,000 feet for 35 hours at a time. It can provide the military with high resolution video images of an area the size of England in less than 24 hours.