Introduction Riblets and tripwires are widely explored and documented structures that have enormous potential for use in drag reduction technology. Passive strategies for reducing drag in airborne and underwater vehicles, such as airplanes and submarines, are increasingly being studied as they reduce the cost of operating the vehicle while increasing its speed and efficiency. This essay discusses electrical ribs and wires and their use in drag reduction technology. Their optimal specifications, working mechanism and potential applications for drag reduction on underwater airfoils were also covered. Riblets and tripwire In the case of underwater vehicles, fluid mechanical resistance (hydrodynamic drag) reduces the speed at which they travel through the water. For a given engine power limit, the maximum speed achievable by the vehicle is drastically reduced due to the formation of vortices very close to the surface of the vehicle. In addition to this, another source of hydrodynamic drag is the development of pressure drag due to laminar flow in boundary layers. Grooves can be used to reduce vortex formation near the surface of the vehicle, while wires can be used to reduce pressure drag and induce turbulence in boundary layers. • Grooves: These are tiny grooves, positioned longitudinally on the surface of a vehicle or airfoil and are aligned with the direction of flow. Walsh and Lindemann [1984] at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Reidy and Anderson [1988] at the Naval Ocean Systems Center (NOSC) have shown that they produce an 8% reduction in turbulent flow drag on flat plates”.1 Studies on “fully submerged axisymmetric bodies”1 conducted…… half of the article……wr.uni-heidelberg.de/~elfi/ef_rio.pdf4. Moin P, Kim J. Tackling turbulence with supercomputers. Stanford: Center for Turbulence Research. Available from: http://www.stanford.edu/group/ctr/articles/tackle.html5. Pendergast DR, Mollendorf JC, Termin AC. Application of theoretical principles to the resistance reduction of swimsuits. Sports Eng 2006 [cited 6 August 2011]. 65-76. Available from: http://www.teamtermin.com/docs/SwimSuit_Drag_Reduction.pdf6. Peet Y, Sagaut P. Reduction of turbulent drag using sinusoidal ribs with triangular cross section. 38th AIAA Fluid Dynamics Conference and Exhibition; June 23-26, 2008. Seattle, Washington. page 1-9. Available from: http://www.mcs.anl.gov/~peet/aiaa_2008.pdf7. García-Mayoral R, Jiménez J. Reduction of drag by riblet. Phil Trans R Soc A. 2011 [cited 6 August 2011]. Available from: http://torroja.dmt.upm.es/pubs/2011/rgm_jj_philtrans11.pdf