As you can probably imagine, flying in a fighter jet and having one of your wings blown off is an extremely stressful thing to have happen. It's pretty tough to stay calm and control your plane and adjust to the new conditions and keep from, you know, dying.

Well, DARPA is here to help. It's developed a new system for fighter jets that detects when damage to the plane has happened and takes control from the pilot. It automatically adjusts so the plane can keep flying, allowing the pilot to land safely and remove the steaming pile that he inevitably deposited in his pants. It's pretty stunning technology, one that's sure to save lives when it's put into action.

Rockwell Collins, via Engadget