VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) is no great shakes in a wargadget these days — and a craft like the F-35B, with its short-take off and vertical-landing capabilities might be even less shocking — but jets that stop whatever they’re doing mid-air to just hover awhile? That’s another story entirely. The $83 million-plus, supersonic stealth jet did just that yesterday, according to Lockheed Martin . The flight began with a conventional takeoff and the aircraft hit about 200 knots before the pilot switched her into STOVL, culminating in a zero airspeed hover 150 feet above the runway. This is the first “mid-air hover” by the aircraft, and if development continues at the pace most of these programs do it should see active service sometime around Engadget’s 25th birthday. Video after the break

Russia’s been testing its new T-50 “Sukhhoi” stealth fighter jets and so far they’re a success. This video shows the first test flight and is supposedly also the very first time the public is getting to see the bird. With the T-50’s “basic specs” including “greater agility, sustained supersonic-flight capability in non-afterburning mode, low radar visibility, low heat signature, as well as enhanced take-off and landing performance,” I wonder what the upgrade options are. Either way, this successful test flight makes Russia the only country aside from the United States to have fifth-generation fighters. [ Ria Novosti ]

This is the Shinshin ATD-X, the prototype of what could be Japan’s very own stealth fighter if they don’t get to buy Lockheed Martin F-22s. It’s very sleek, but I’m sad it doesn’t transform like a Varitech. The Japanese military seems to be very happy about it, although it’s not clear it will ever pass the prototype test phase. For now, only a full scale mockup for radar profiling—it appears as a group of insects or a bird, they say—and a RC model have been built. [ Flight Global ]

Stealth Computer has been kicking , shoving and blasting ruggedized PCs out of its labs for years on end, and the latest mini PC is amongst the smallest we’ve seen to still sport such a hardcore shell. The LPC-395F is a fanless rig with integrated removable storage, featuring front-loading removable media slots (for HDDs and flash media), a 1.6GHz Atom N270 processor, a metal chassis and an overall size of just 6.54- x 6.18- x 1.89-inches. As for ports, you’ll find twin gigabit Ethernet sockets, four USB 2.0 connectors, DVI and RS-232; there’s also an inbuilt WiFi module and room for 2GB of RAM, while the OS that arrives is totally your call. The base configuration checks in at $795, but you’ll probably end up paying well north of a grand when everything’s said and done.

Stealth Computer isn’t exactly going for much subtlety with a rugged laptop line called “Warrior,” but subtlety is hardly part of the equation when we’re talking about a convertible tablet that’s protected from repeated drops, shocks, dust, water, and, um, lint. Like most such ruggedized computers, however, all that comes at some expense to performance, although this new 13.3-inch Warrior NW-2000 model is certainly still more than adequate with a 1.06GHz low-voltage Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, and a built-in DVD burner, not to mention optional 3G, GPS, and all the usual security measures like a fingerprint scanner and various password protection options. Oh, and a starting price of $4,895. Filed under: Laptops Stealth Computer kicks and shoves its Warrior 2000 rugged tablet out the door originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Aug 2009 17:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read

Colorware ’s well known for offering up all sorts of consumer electronics in all sorts of hues, but the outfit has definitely stepped up its game with the Stealth MacBook Pro . This limited edition piece is an all-black 15-inch MacBook Pro with a matte display, 3.06GHz CPU, 8GB of DDR3 RAM, 256MB SSD, an 8x SuperDrive, zero gloss finish and a SofTouch coating that’ll make it downright impossible for your fingers to stop stroking it. Reportedly, these will be limited to just ten units, and each one will cost a not-at-all affordable $5,999. See Apple, this is what you get when you voluntarily axe the BlackBook . Opportunity, lost.

Sure, we give you the usual list of specs for Stealth ’s newest small form factor PC, the WPC-500F — which, frankly, isn’t any different than your garden variety netbook — but if you ask us, its most noteworthy feature is the ability to pour water on it all day without worrying about it fizzling out. Orders for the waterproof / water resistant machine are now being accepted, with prices starting at $1,995 and shipments going out in early July. If you really must know all the technical details, it’s got a 1.6GHz Intel Atom 330, integrated graphics, 2GB RAM, 80GB HDD with options for SSD, no optical bay, no WiFi, and Windows XP. However, we think it’ll more fun to just send you past the break and watch the borderline sadomasochistic video demonstration. [Via Engadget Korea ] Read - Press Release Read - Product page Continue reading Stealth’s WPC-500F waterproof SFF PC makes a splash Filed under: Desktops Stealth’s WPC-500F waterproof SFF PC makes a splash originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 21 Jun 2009 20:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .

This year marks the 20th Anniversary of the B-2 Stealth Bomber’s first flight. To celebrate, Northrop Grumman’s has unveiled the B-2 Stealth Bike , which unfortunately doesn’t fly and it’s not invisible. It looks… hmmm, stealthy?