Wingless Electromagnetic Air Vehicle
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event
Contents 7
| Date | December 2011 |
|---|---|
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 175 |
| Year | 2011 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 2011 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 4 |
The Wingless Electromagnetic Air Vehicle (WEAV) is a small disc-shaped flying vehicle concept devised in 2006 by Subrata Roy, a plasma physicist and aerospace engineering professor at the University of Florida. It would fly using electrically generated plasma to push air, with no moving parts, propellers or jet engines. Scientific American called it possibly the world's first flying saucer.[1][2]
The principle
Closely spaced electrodes on the vehicle's surface ionise the surrounding air using high-voltage radio-frequency alternating current, and the resulting ions are accelerated electrohydrodynamically, producing an "ion wind" that generates lift and thrust. At higher altitudes and speeds, a magnetic field could be applied to add a Lorentz force.[1]
Funding and patents
The U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research funded the work, and Roy and colleagues published a proof-of-concept report in 2011, available from the Defense Technical Information Center. Roy received U.S. patents for "wingless hovering of micro air vehicle" in 2013 and 2015, with related patents in Asia and Europe.[1][3]
Coverage
Scientific American reported on the concept in July 2008, describing it as possibly "the world's first flying saucer: made right here on Earth".[2]
Limitations
The WEAV used ordinary plasma aerodynamics, a real field of research, not anti-gravity. Small-scale actuators produce much less thrust than larger ones, and the design required extensive optimisation; the concept faced challenges of power and scale. It shows how disc-shaped designs continue to appear in legitimate aerospace research.[1][3]
People and topics
- U.S. Air Force — The U.S. military service that ran the official UFO projects from 1947 to 1969.
- Unidentified flying object — An object in the sky that can't be identified; the older term for UAP.
- Anti-gravity — The idea of cancelling or controlling gravity for propulsion.
On the Timeline
- Lemoore triangle sightings (15 November 2011) — A Navy maintenance worker sees a glowing triangle above Lemoore Naval Air Station.
- Jump room school claim (July 2012) — A man alleges he attended a 'jump room' school with a future DARPA director.
See every 2011 event on the UAP Timeline →
References
- Wingless Electromagnetic Air Vehicle — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- "The world's first flying saucer: made right here on Earth", Scientific American (Jul 2008) · scientificamerican.com · archived copy
- Subrata Roy et al., AFOSR final report (2011), DTIC (PDF) · apps.dtic.mil · archived copy
- apps.dtic.mil · apps.dtic.mil · archived copy
This page was last edited on 29 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
No discussion yet.