How to fly an airplane without ailerons or elevators—the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is inviting aviation and aerospace companies to submit advanced technology ideas as part of their CRANE (Control of Revolutionary Aircraft with Novel Effecters) program.
The invitation alone triggers the imagination: "The CRANE program seeks to design, build, and flight test a new and novel aircraft that incorporates Active Flow Control (AFC) technologies as a primary design consideration. By optimizing an aircraft for AFC from a clean sheet approach, CRANE matures and demonstrates new trade spaces for future aircraft designs."
BAE Systems reported earlier this year that it had successfully flown a UAV using flow control in Wales—so the race has already begun.