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The destructive power of drones frequently puts this type of technology in thernnews but not all of them are designed to deliver missiles. Other uses for UAVsrn- or unmanned aerial vehicles – range from search and rescue, surveillance, to aerialrntargeting and aeronautical research.

A number of these craft were on show at this week’srnFarnborough Airshow in the UK – and this image shows the 90kg turbojet-powered flaplessrnDemon, which was developed by Cranfield University, BAE Systems and the Universityrnof Manchester as part of the five-year FLAVIIR project to develop a maintenance-freernUAV that incorporated novel technologies.

The Demon successfully completed two flights and became the firstrnrepresentation of a full-size aircraft to achieve controlled roll manoeuvresrnwithout moving control surfaces. Instead of flaps, the Demon manoeuvred usingrnfluidic devices that exploited the Coanda effect.