France, once the colonial power in Mali, unleashed an offensive against the militants last week, a mission that President Francois Hollande says is designed to "destroy" the terrorist groups that have taken root.

CNN: French, Malians seize town from Islamists

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan has voiced its concern about intimidation that it believes is designed to disrupt the loya jirga.

ECONOMIST: Searching for stability | The

The ship is designed to conduct only one primary mission at a time, but its small size, high speed and stealthy design make it well suited to function in treacherous coastal areas where bigger warships seldom venture.

FORBES: Low-Cost Warship Rescues Navy From Shrinking Fleet

The Morpheus lander is designed to carry up to 1, 100 pounds of cargo for a future moon mission.

CNN: Moon lander prototype blows up in NASA test

This new mission for NATO is designed to secure a Europe that is undivided, democratic and at peace for the first time in history.

CNN: Inviting New Members Into NATO

Although spacecraft instruments are set to return photographs and compositional data, the encounter primarily is a test of Deep Space 1's autonomous navigation system, the last of 12 technologies the mission was designed to pioneer.

CNN: Spacecraft set for risky asteroid flyby