It takes two sets of wings to Tango-this unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) from Draganfly Innovations uses tandem front and rear wings pitched in opposite directions (front set up, rear set down) to significantly increase its stability in the air, which makes it easier to control. Available as either a remote-controlled UAV or a fully autonomous drone, the fiberglass Tango uses a camera [A] in its underbelly and a 2.4-gigahertz radio antenna to send TV-quality live video to your computer.

Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works, famed for the U-2 and Blackbird spy planes that flew higher than anything else in the world in their day, is trying for a different altitude record: an airplane that starts and ends its mission 150 feet underwater. The Cormorant, a stealthy, jet-powered, autonomous aircraft that could be outfitted with either short-range weapons or surveillance equipment, is designed to launch out of the Trident missile tubes in some of the U.S. Navy's gigantic Cold Warâ€era Ohio-class submarines.