BAE Systems Demon

The BAE Systems Demon is an experimental unmanned aerial vehicle developed and manufactured by the British defence group BAE Systems, and has been described as the first flapless aircraft in the world. It was built as the demonstrator for the five year flapless air vehicle integrated industrial research programme, known as FLAVIIR, which had a declared budget of 6.5 million pounds and involved Cranfield University and nine other British universities. The Demon was developed from the conventional BAE Systems Eclipse UAV and is a blended wing-body aircraft with a wingspan of about 2.5 metres. On 17 September 2010 it made its first flight with its conventional control surfaces deactivated, flying from Barrow/Walney Island Airport off the coast of Cumbria. BAE said it would not be followed by a direct production aircraft, but its fluidic control technology could feed other platforms.