The ability to change the wing angle provides efficiency at both low and high speeds. An airfoil produces lift by creating pressure differences on its upper and lower surfaces. At the wingtips, this difference in pressure produces wingtip vortices. This swirling air increases drag, decreases lift, and can produce potentially dangerous air turbulence around airports. The winglets, placed in a vertical position at the end of the wings, eliminates the vortices thereby improving the efficiency of the wing.
Canards are horizontal surfaces forward of the main airfoils and are used for trim and control.
The use of canards increases maneuverability and can allow the main wings of an aircraft to be smaller and lighter. The mission-adaptive wing maintains its best efficiency under most conditions. Unlike flaps, slats, ailerons, etc., which are add-ons to the wing, the wing will change to create its most efficient shape for a variety of conditions. An aircraft using a joined wing would have its main wing swept upward and backward connected at the tips to the rearward wing which would be swept forward and downward, resembling the shape of a diamond. The advantages of this type of wing would be its greater strength, lighter weight, lower drag, increased lift, and unique maneuverability.