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.
Fluidic thrust vectoring, meanwhile, ‘uses blown air to deflect the exhaust, allowing for the direction of the aircraft to be changed.’
‘These trials are an important step forward in our efforts to explore adaptable airframes’, Bill Crowther, leader of the MAGMA project at the University of Manchester, said in a BAE Systems release. ‘What we are seeking to do through this program is truly groundbreaking.’
For its first flight, MAGMA featured two small vertical fins for stability. But the fins, themselves a significant source of radar reflectivity, could be temporary. ‘Further flight t…
