Covered in tiny structures known as dermal denticles, the ribbed pattern of shark skin reduces drag across their surface, allowing some species to swim at 50km/h. Others can dart forward even faster over short distances. Such a useful property has not gone unnoticed by engineers. Projects have replicated the hydrodynamic effect in air using ‘riblets’, with companies including 3M and Airbus trialling products.
Now, a riblet film known as AeroShark is being rolled out on to operational aircraft. Developed by German multinationals Lufthansa Technik and BASF, the technology was installed on passenger Boeing 777-300ER planes at Swiss from October 2022, and Lufthansa Cargo’s entire Boeing 777F freighter fleet at the beginning of 2023. This week, Japanese airline ANA began scheduled cargo flights with a modified 777F treated with the film, with plans to start using it on a passenger aircraft by next spring.