CUTTING EDGE

DISPATCHES FROM THE FRONT LINE OF AEROSPACE TECHNOLOGY

STEALTHY NEW DRONE HAS NO MOVING SURFACES

RESEARCHERS AT BAE Systems and the University of Manchester in the UK successfully test-flew an experimental unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with no moving control surfaces, BAE Systems announced in December 2017.

Instead of rudders, ailerons and other conventional control surfaces, the MAGMA relies on two new technologies for maneuverability. Wing circulation control ‘takes air from the aircraft engine and blows it supersonically through the trailing edge of the wing to provide control for the aircraft’, according to BAE Systems.

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