The benefits of the two systems could be immense. Future aircraft designs without moving control surfaces at all would be inherently more aerodynamic and could be less complicated, bulky, and more reliable. At present, the drone uses the blown air to move traditional surfaces, but this still removes the need for physical actuators of some sort.

“The technologies we are developing with The University of Manchester will make it possible to design cheaper, higher performance, next generation aircraft,” Clyde Warsop, a BAE Systems Engineering Fellow, said in an official press release . “What we are seeking to do through this program is truly ground-breaking,” Bill Crowther, head of the MAGMA project at The University of Manchester, added.

According to the U.K.-headquartered defense contractor , the wing circulation control system will siphon air from the drone’s engine and blasts it at supersonic speed through the trailing edges of its wings, eliminating the need for traditional flaps and ailerons for flight control. The fluidic thrust vectoring component similarly blasts air to deflect the engine’s exhaust and change the direction of flight without help from a rudder.

In cooperation with The University of Manchester in the United Kingdom, BAE Systems has test flown a small unmanned plane, called MAGMA, that it says could eventually have a revolutionary flight control system. The "wing circulation control" and "fluidic thrust vectoring" features could have significant implications for civilian and military aviation, especially future stealth aircraft designs .

BAE Systems and The University of Manchester say the goal of the project is to prove the viability of an aircraft design without any moving control surfaces whatsoever. If the MAGMA test program proves successful, it could be revolutionary for the aviation industry as a whole. Removing the need for traditional control surfaces would offer a way to lighten the overall design of any aircraft, because there would be no need for complex control lines and actuators. There wouldn't be any large, moving surfaces anymore, either, making it more aerodynamic and potentially faster and more maneuverable at higher speeds. It would remove potential points of failure that could lead to the aircraft going out of control. This could result in combat aircraft that are less sensitive to battle damage or other in-flight emergencies. Research and real world experiences have already shown that just selectively adjusting thrust on individual engines on multi-engine aircraft could provide an alternative, if limited means of control without the need for elevators, rudders, flaps, or ailerons. A lack of traditional control surfaces could potentially mean reduced maintenance and logistics requirements, too. Ground crews would have fewer components to keep in working order and parts to manage in general.

BAE Systems

The importance of these developments would be especially pounced with regards to military stealth aircraft designs. Joints, gaps between parts, and large, moving surfaces – such as flaps and ailerons – are exactly the kinds of things that reflect radar waves and low observable designs try their best to avoid using them where ever possible. At the same time, air forces around the world are already facing the prospect of increasingly more capable integrated air defenses full of surface-to-air missiles with cuing from multiple types of radars, including lower frequency types, and other sensor systems. What might have been “invisible” to one sensor system by itself in the past may no longer be fully shielded from a full network fusing together information from multiple sources. The need for aircraft stealth capabilities in general is only going to become more important as time goes on, but designers will now increasingly need to focus on broadband low observability, as well. Eliminating the need for any moving control surfaces would be an excellent way to streamline a basic planform and optimize it for low observability.

BAE Systems The Magma drone.