The benefits the US has gained from Israeli technological advances in everything from medical equipment to microchips to pilotless aircraft are without peer worldwide.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Strategic foundations of the US-Israel alliance

BAE's Simon Shrouder estimates that pilotless aircraft could be used within three to five years to investigate weather systems or natural disasters, such as volcanic ash clouds.

BBC: The Jetstream unmanned aircraft

Gortney said a surface-to-air missile threat would have to be eliminate before pilotless aircraft such as the Global Hawk drone could fly missions to see how successful the strikes have been.

WSJ: Strikes Designed to Knock Out Libyan Air Defenses

The WWF has also developed pilotless special drone aircraft to detect poachers, locate forest fires and detect illegal felling of trees.

BBC: Nepal's rhino hunters become the hunted

It says the two leaders will agree on plans to build a new generation of pilotless "fighter drone" aircraft.

BBC: Papers

X-43A, which is pilotless, four metres long, and has a nose made of solid tungsten, will be the first working aircraft to be powered by a scramjet a supersonic-combustion ramjet.

ECONOMIST: Jet propulsion