DARPA’s Air-Steered X-65 Jet
January 11th, 2024Via: The Register:
The latest experimental DARPA aircraft, which is designed to maneuver without the need for moving parts, is headed to the manufacturing stage and could be flying as soon as next year.
The X-65 is being built by Boeing subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences, who scored a contract with the Defense Department last year as part of the Control of Revolutionary Aircraft with Novel Effectors (CRANE) program.
The key technology being explored as part of CRANE is known as active flow control (AFC), which relies on directed jets of pressurized air to steer the aircraft instead of flaps and rudders.
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British example:
The Demon is an experimental unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed and manufactured by British defence conglomerate BAE Systems. It has been referred to as being the world’s first “flapless” aircraft
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/BAE_Systems_Demon