The Demon is an experimental unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed and manufactured by British defence conglomerate BAE Systems.

[3][1] This effort had a declared budget of £6.5 million, which was financed by both BAE Systems and the UK's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

[6] As development proceeded, it was decided to produce an experimental unmanned air vehicle to demonstrate manoeuvring without the aid of conventional flight control surfaces.

[8][9] Richard Williams, BAE's programme director for future capability, stated of the occasion: "I feel sure I have witnessed a significant moment in aviation history".

[8][10] Aerospace periodical Flight International speculated that this unique circulation control system could one day be employed in civilian aviation to reduce the size of the wing on widebody airliners.

In terms of military applications, the technology might enable future combat aircraft to achieve greater levels of stealth than conventionally equipped counterparts.

A key goal of the demonstrator was to trial cheaper, more modular UAV technology, exploring designs have been generated through cross-disciplinary interactions.