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tagawa 4 hours ago

Not quite.

- The 43% is peak drag reduction in the transition zone only, the bit between laminar and turbulent flow, not across all flight conditions.

- Aerodynamic drag is one part of fuel burn, not a 1:1 proxy. There's also engine efficiency, etc.

- This is skin friction drag on a wind tunnel model, not a full aircraft which has extra bits like windscreen wipers.

I still think it's exciting but I reckon fuel savings would amount to a few percent (aeronautical engineers, please correct me if I'm wrong).