On May 16, 2019, the development of drones by BAE Systems in collaboration with the University of Manchester has reached a new milestone.
In early May of this year, MAGMA UAV successfully completed the test and proved its capability of "flapless" flight technology. As a result, MAGMA is considered to be the first aircraft in the history of aviation to use supersonic air jets. This technology improves the complex tasks of low-speed control aircraft.
In traditional aircraft, when additional resistance is required, the flaps are deployed to increase the lift of the aircraft during takeoff and flight. Expandable and retractable as needed, a flap is a complex structure that relies on the interaction between many different components.
To simplify and compress this feature of drones, the University of Manchester and BAE are seeking blown air technology instead of traditional wing flaps. Although the concept of blow control has been tested in aviation since World War II, MAGMA's blow technology differs in both the speed of the air delivered and the size of the system used.
In MAGMA's latest test, two so-called "flapless" methods of blowing are demonstrated:
-Take in air from the aircraft engine and ultrasonically blow through a narrow slot around the specially shaped wing tail to control the aircraft.
-Control the aircraft by injecting air into the nozzles to deflect the exhaust nozzles and generate control forces.
The blown air solution developed by the MAGMA team is the result of a long-term collaboration between BAE Systems and the University of Manchester's team led by senior scholar Bill Crowther. Commented after the latest test flight: "We made our first fluid thrust vectoring nozzle, glued it together, and tested it nearly 20 years ago. Today, BAE Systems is using titanium alloy 3D Print our parts, and we are conducting flight tests on aircraft jet engines designed and manufactured by the project team. "
MAGMA's 3D printed components are the basis for simplifying its design, improving inertia, reducing costs, quality and radar cross section. Other defense projects that use additive manufacturing for drone development include agreements between Titomic and TAUV, the US Air Force's 3D printed antennas, and DARPA's TERN program.
BAMA will use the data generated by the MAGMA project to influence future research plans.