In January of last year, China made a bit of splash when a never-before-seen jet suddenly appeared. It was dubbed the J-20 and though it’s been photographed by fans in the months since its debut, not much is known about this stealthy new addition to the Chinese fleet. However, one thing is now certain: There is another.

The history of the F-22 Raptor, perhaps the most advanced fighter jet in the U.S. fleet, has been a troubled one, with only a fraction of the aircraft being built and the program dogged by concerns over the aircraft’s oxygen system. Though a USAF report has put some changes in place, it seems that a few pilots are refusing to fly the Raptor.

Back in December, members of the Iranian military announced that they had downed and captured U.S. RQ-170 drone flying in or near Iran’s airspace. Iranian officials went on to proclaim their intent to reverse-engineer the drone, and build their own version of the unmanned aerial vehicle. Now, it seems that they may have made some progress, as an Iranian military spokesman claims to have cracked the drone’s database.

At about 12:05 P.M., a Navy F/A-18D fighter jet attached to the Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 106 crashed into an apartment building in Virginia Beach, VA.  There are no reported deaths, and the Navy has confirmed that both members of the jet’s aircrew ejected safely. However, the damage to the building seems extensive. See video, after the break.

The trouble with supersonic travel is multifaceted: There’s the cost, the sound, the efficiency, and the sound — did we mention the sound? Sonic booms are, not surprisingly, incredibly loud, and what you may not know (I didn’t) is that aircraft traveling at such speeds are making that noise the entire time they’re flying. Perhaps it’s not surprising that supersonic flight has been banned over land, out of concern for people’s wellbeing and worry over the sound damaging local wildlife. However, when it comes to reducing sonic booms, two wings are better than one.

The Internet has been lately awash with videos of people strapping interesting objects to weather balloons for the purpose of filming them at the edge of space. It’s fun to watch, but Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner decided that he wanted to go along for the ride and parachute down. His plan, branded as Red Bull Stratos, is to eventually jump from 120,000 feet up this summer. This past Thursday, he took his first leap in a practice jump from an astounding 71,581 feet.

The last of the world’s first fifth-generation jet fighter, the F-22 Raptor, rolled off the assembly line in December of last year. Back in 1994, there were meant to be 750 of the stealthy high-tech fighters built, but that number has dwindled over ballooning costs and concerns that the conflict the F-22 was designed for just hasn’t materialized. In the end, 187 operational fighters were built. The last Raptor, number 4195, took its first flight this past Wednesday in Georgia.

Careful readers of our Geekolinks have probably noticed that we have been keeping a close eye on the F-22 Raptor’s continuing oxygen troubles over the past few months. After spending about four months on the ground, the Air Force finally allowed the planes back in the sky this September, only to be grounded again last week.

Now it seems that with little-to-no explanation, the planes are once again flying from bases in Virginia and Alaska. The most recent grounding was tied to concerns of hypoxia, a dangerous condition that develops when the brain is deprived of oxygen. Similar concerns were the impetus behind the first grounding back in May. As with the first ungrounding, there is no word from the Air Force about a fix for the aircraft.

The future of America’s premiere $150 million per-plane, high-tech aircraft seems uncertain — especially at a time where drones are carrying out untold numbers of missions and the F-35 is nipping at the Raptor’s heels. Introducing new hardware is always difficult, but this is embarrassing.

After spending the better part of four months on the ground, Lockheed-Martin’s F-22 Raptor superjets have been cleared to fly again as of today. Originally grounded in May after reports of oxygen issues, the jets have been the focus of a months long study by the Air Force and aeronautics experts. Frequent readers may have noticed that this is a story we’ve been following for some time now.

The concern sprung from pilots returning from flights with hypoxia-like symptoms, a condition which occurs when the brain is deprived of oxygen. The condition, while temporary, is extremely dangerous as it can potentially affect decision making and reaction time — two things the pilot of an extremely fast and extremely expensive aircraft cannot afford to loose. Further studies found antifreeze in the blood of Raptor pilots, which only deepened the mystery of what was going on with the aircraft.

Quadrotors are so passe. At just ten inches long and a mere 1.5 pounds, Lockheed Martin’s proof-of-concept monocopter called the Samarai is a surprising little aircraft. Taking power from a single rotor, the craft spins at high speed with lift from its lone wing using the same principle as a maple seed.

Capable of taking off from the ground or after being tossed in the air, the Samarai can hover and maneuver well in confined spaces. An onboard camera takes advantage of the craft’s constant spin to provide a 360º view, streaming back to operators in real-time.

Though the Samarai is only a proof of concept, Lockheed Martin hopes to someday get a monocopter UAV into the wild. The compact design would be ideal for soldiers looking to get added surveillance in a particular area. Size is one area the developers hope to continue to improve upon, telling Popular Mechanics they hope to get it down to the size of a fingernail.

Read on below for video of Samarai taking flight.