Aerospace industry confronts new global challenges

The defence environment is changing faster than anyone could have foreseen.

New threats require new technologies and new ways of working.

And in a world where no government can afford to support a cradle-to-grave industrial base, defence companies must adapt.

• • Who dares wins

For defence expert Professor Keith Hayward, head of research at the Royal Aeronautical Society, the UK has done more than most to adjust to this new era.

The watchword for industry is ‘transformation’.

Keith Hayward

Head of research

Royal Aeronautical Society

He says, “The watchword for industry is ‘transformation’.

“The UK is shifting away from making platforms and all the heavy stuff, towards through-life management and better technologies.

“The carrot being waved in front of industry is: if you are prepared to adapt, there will be plenty of opportunities,” he adds.

• • Adapt to survive

Major programmes in production, such as those for the Joint Combat Aircraft and Eurofighter Typhoon, mean there are currently few opportunities for jet designers.

“But there will be plenty of opportunities to maintain, update, and see [the aircraft] through their lives,” says Hayward.

It will be the same with the production of the UK's new aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales, and the £16 billion Future Rapid Effects System (FRES) armoured vehicle project.

These will all see action within the next five years.

• • The UK’s unique openness

While other countries are restructuring their aerospace and defence sectors, what distinguishes the UK’s strategy is its openness to foreign investors and contractors.

Last year the Government published its Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS) and Defence Technology Strategy (DTS), which set out the UK’s needs for the next 25 years.

At their core is the principle that it does not matter who owns a company, as long as the expertise and intellectual property reside in the UK.

In other words, if you want a slice of the second-largest defence budget in the world, you’ve got a better chance if you are located in the UK.

• • International vision

This is what lay behind the huge investments in the UK made by the likes of France’s Thales and Italy’s Finmeccanica.

Boeing, too, has said it will increase its UK footprint.

For Sir Brian Burridge, senior strategic advisor at Finmeccanica, the DIS and DTS give industry the confidence to invest.

“The UK now has a clear long-term vision about procurement and working in partnership with companies from all over the world,” he says.

The UK now has a clear long-term vision about procurement and working in partnership with companies from all over the world.

Sir Brian Burridge

Senior strategic advisor

Finmeccanica

“The DIS and DTS mean a different way of working, but they have given us certainty.”

• • New roles for smaller companies

It would be a mistake to think that this vision is for big companies only.

Professor Hayward thinks that the role of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will become more important.

“I know from my own discussions that the Ministry of Defence is looking at how to utilise and support aerospace SMEs.

“You’ll be hearing a lot more about this in the future,” he says.