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

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

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

Developed by BAE in collaboration with the University of Manchester and the British government, the aircraft uses jets of air instead of flaps 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.