That giant balloon hovering above Afghanistan is not the Goodyear blimp.

It's an unmanned Lockheed Martin (LMT) aircraft that can keep an eye 24/7 on U.S. soldiers operating overseas.

Lockheed's other drones include everything from the K-MAX unmanned cargo helicopter and the next-generation Desert Hawk III to the small, silent and spookily-named Stalker.

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It's not clear how much revenue Lockheed rakes in from its drones, but these futuristic crafts are a growing part of the defense giant's $14 billion of annual aeronautics sales.

Other defense contractors like Raytheon (RTN) have been tapped by the military to upgrade drone control systems.

NEXT: Northrop Grumman