Engineers embarked on testing the world's first flapless aircraft.

Today, conventional aircraft rely on a complex system of flaps, ailerons, elevators and other

control surfaces to maneuver in the air. Despite the more than a century of aviation history, this complex, heavy and expensive system has remained almost unchanged.

Developed by BAE in collaboration with the University of Manchester and the British government, the plane instead of flaps uses air jets that blow under the wing at supersonic speeds.

The company said that the technology used in Magma will simplify the control of aircraft and improve their flight performance.

Earlier, scientists from Central South University of China developed a ceramic composite material that can be used to skin hypersonic aircraft.