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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to achieve high-performance aerofoils that enable delayed stall conditions and achieve high lift to drag ratios. Design/methodology/approach – The unsteady Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equations are employed in conjunction with a shear stress transport (κ-ώ) turbulence model. A control equation is designed and implemented to determine the temporal response of the actuator. A rotating element, in the form of an actuator disc, is embedded on the leading edge of NACA 0012 aerofoil, to inject momentum into the wake region. The actuator disc is rotated at different angular speeds, for angles of attack (α) between 00 and 240. Findings – Phenomena such as flow separation, wake vortices, delayed stall, wake control, etc. are numerically investigated by means of streamlines, streaklines, isobars, etc. Streamwise and cross-stream forces on the aerofoil are obtained. The influence of momentum injection parameter (ξ) on the fluid flow patterns, and hence on the forces acting on the streamlined body are determined. A synchronization-based coupling scheme is designed and implemented to achieve annihilation of wake vortices. A delayed stall angle resulted with an attendant increase in maximum lift coefficient. Due to delay and/or prevention of separation, drag coefficient is also reduced considerably, resulting in a high-performance lifting surface. Research limitations/implications – The practicality of momentum injection principle requires both wide ranging and intensive further studies to move forward beyond the proof of concept stage. Practical implications – Determination of forces and moments on an aerofoil is of vital interest in aero-dynamic design. Perhaps, runways of the future can be shorter and/or more pay load can be carried by an aircraft, for the same stall speed. Originality/value – The paper describes how a synchronization-based coupling scheme is designed and implemented along with the RANS solver. Furthermore, it is tested to verify the dynamic adaptability of the wake vortex annihilation for NACA 0012 aerofoils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]