In an ominous moment designed as a harbinger for the coming "search engine wars", Google has bought a fighter jet. NYTimes reports the company has acquired a Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet, a light attack and trainer jet used by air forces around the world. What, besides destroying the three remaining Altavista compounds, is Google going to be doing with this fighter jet?

Helping NASA conduct experiments of course! They already loan out some of their other planes to NASA on occasion, being as how they share an airstrip. The jet was acquired to carry scientific instruments that could not be rigged up to the Boeing 757/767s and Gulfstream jets the company already own. Word on the street, is the jet could be used to help with the day-to-day functionality of the ESA Jules Verne satellite. Aw, those Googlers. So sweet.

In related news, Jeeves of Askjeeves.com recently bought a Supersoaker 2000. Go get ’em Jeeves!

OK, so it looks like a cross between a cat and a pig, but this new helmet are made so that fighter pilots can see right through the jet.

Inside the faceplate, images from outside cameras can be viewed so that the pilot can get a real-time picture of where he/she is.

Other info fed in via the faceplate include flight and combat data, as well as target symbols of friendlies / enemies.

The US Navy is another step closer to developing a flying bot, perhaps to join the robotic fighters in the works.

Northrop Grumman got the $636 million contract to design, build, and fly an Unmanned Combat Air System "that would operate from the decks of the Navy’s giant nuclear-powered aircraft carriers," which we might see in 10 to 15 years.