Supplementary memorandum submitted by
the Society of British Aerospace Companies Ltd
INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS
All the major aerospace nations (US, UK, France,
Germany, Italy, Russia) undertake both basic and applied aeronautical
research. the US is home to by far the largest single domestic
R&D budget (approximately £10 billion per annum). Although
total R&D expenditure in the UK has increased over the last
five years, both the French and German Governments have strongly
supported aerospace related research over the same time period.
In addition, many nations in South America, Asia and the Pacific
ring are also curently increasing their support of total expenditure
of aeronautical research.
— Total aerospace R&D in France
was twice that of the UK in 1997 (latest comparable data), and
for R&T alone it was almost three time the level of the UK.
— Germany, which has an aerospace industry
roughly half the size of the UK, spent almost 50 per cent more
on R&D and a roughly equal level of R&T than the UK in
1997.
— Data on US aerospace expenditure
on R&T is unavailable from public sources. However, total
R&D (which subsumes R&T) is at least 10 times the level
of the UK for an industry which is roughly four times the size
in terms of turnover.
UK AEROSPACE R&D
IN THE
SUPPLY-CHAIN
Large-scale manufacturing industries such as
aerospace have extensive and complex supply chains. In the case
of aerospace, some 80 per cent by value is added below the final
integration and assembly of the final product or major sub-system.
Companies at the top of the manufacturing chain are requiring
increasing degrees of financial and technical risk of their suppliers.
This, in turn, is placing new research and development demands
on smaller companies with commensurate funding requirements.
— UK aerospace R&D is conducted
at all levels of the supply-chain;
— Around £1.7 billion of UK Aerospace
Industry R&D was conducted by companies with an annual turnover
in excess of £100 million.
— At 14.5 per cent, total R&D Intensity
is greatest amongst companies with a turnover between £100
million and £1,000 million.
TOTAL UK AEROSPACE INDUSTRY R&D: BY TURNOVER
BAND (1999)
| Turnover Banding |
Total
R&D |
Associated
Turnover1
| R&D
Intensity
| R&T
Alone |
Associated
Turnover1
| R&T
Intensity
|
| £1,00m+ | 892
| 8,180 | 10.9%
| 100 | 8,180
| 1.2% |
| £100m-£1,000m | 815
| 5,603 | 14.5%
| 125 | 3,715
| 3.4% |
| £50m-£100m | 39
| 1,618 | 2.4%
| 3 | 336
| 0.9% |
| £10m-£50m | 37
| 1,469 | 2.5%
| 9 | 483
| 1.8% |
| £1m-£10m | 12
| 525 | 2.4%
| 3 | 68
| 4.4% |
| <£1m | 8
| 195 | 4.1%
| 2 | 117
| 1.5% |
| Grand Total | 1,804
| 17,590 | 10.3%
| 242 | 12,898
| 1.9% |
Source: SBAC.
1 Turnover of companies with positive R&D only.
— Companies with a turnover between £100 million
and £1,000 million per annum, average a R&T intensity
of 2.2 per cent;
— SMEs undertook £18 million of R&D in
1999, representing an intensity of only 1 per cent of annual turnover.
However, R&T intensity for the same companies was 2.7 per
cent of turnover.
TOTAL UK AEROSPACE INDUSTRY R&D: BY SME STATUS (1999)
| Size | Total
R&D
| Associated
Turnover1
| R&D
Instensity
| R&T
Alone |
Associated
Turnover1
| R&T
Intensity
|
| Non SME | 1,786
| 15,864 | 11.3%
| 237 | 12,716
| 1.9‰ |
| SME | 18 |
1,726 | 1.0%
| 5 | 182
| 2.7% |
| Grand Total | 1,804
| 17,589 | 10.3%
| 242 | 12,898
| 1.9% |
Source: SBAC.
1 Turnover of companies with positive R&D only.
— The joint SBAC/AT Kearney globalisation study
classified the UK Aerospace Industry supply chain into six distinct
segments: Prime, Equipment and sub-systems, Components and accessories,
Material stocking and supply, Material transformation and Services.
— In 1999, the prime manufacturers (taken arbitrarily
as British Aerospace plc, Rolls-Royce plc, Bombardier Aerospace
Shorts, Shorts Missile Systems Ltd and GKN Westland Ltd) undertook
£900 million of R&D.
— Total R&D spend at the prime level therefore
represents 50 per cent of the total R&D spend in 1999.
— In terms of intensity, both the Equipment and
sub-systems and Services segments average an R&D spend equivalent
to 12 per cent of total turnover.
TOTAL UK AEROSPACE INDUSTRY R&D: BY SUPPLY-CHAIN SEGMENT
(1999)
| Size | Total
R&D
| Associated
Turnover1
| R&D
Intensity
| R&T
Alone |
Associated
Turnover1
| R&D
Intensity
|
| Prime | 900 |
8,721 | 10.3%
| 102 | 8,486
| 1.2% |
Equipment and
sub-systems | 581
| 4,993 | 11.6%
| 96 | 3,269
| 2.9% |
| Service | 312
| 2,549 | 12.3%
| 41 | 752
| 5.4% |
Components and
accessories | 6
| 604 | 1.0%
| 2 | 125
| 1.4% |
Material stocking
and supply | 2
| 125 | 1.8%
| 0 | 93
| 0.3% |
Material
transformation | 2
| 598 | 0.3%
| 1 | 174
| 0.3% |
| Grand Total | 1,804
| 17,589 | 10.3%
| 242 | 12,898
| 1.9% |
Source: SBAC.
1 Turnover of companies with positive R&D only.
— Total R&T intensity is greatest with the Service
sector at 5.4 per cent of turnover.
Although individual company details for R&D cannot be
presented for confidentiality reasons, the following companies
have been sampled for the 1999 UK Aerospace Industry R&D figures:
| Turnover Banding | Company Name
|
| <£1m | Armstrong Fastenings Ltd, Baxter Woodhouse & Taylor Ltd, David Brown Defence Equipment Ltd, Hurel-Dubois UK, Mid-West Engines Ltd, Normalair Garrett Limited, Sciaky Electric Welding Machines Ltd.
|
| £1m-£10m | A K Fans Ltd, Advanced Composites Group Ltd, AIM Aviation Ltd, AMPEP PLC, Coral, Dunlop Standard Aerospace Group, ERA Technology Ltd, Fairey Microfiltrex Ltd, Farsound Engineering Ltd, Hayes International, Intertechnique (Aerospace) Ltd, J S Cantrill Designs & Manufacturing Ltd, Kearsley Airways Ltd, Kontak Manufacturing Ltd, Labinal Aero & Defence Systems Ltd, Luneside Engineering Co (Halton) Ltd, Marlyn Precision, Middletown Sheet Metal Company Ltd, New Chapel Electronics, Penny & Giles International plc, Saf-T-Glo Aerospace, Sira Electro-Optics Ltd, Specialist Electronics Services, Spectrum Technologies Plc, Strachan and Henshaw Limited.
|
| £10m-£50m | AEM Limited, Aero & Industrial Technology Ltd, Aerospace Forgings Ltd, AETC Ltd, APPH Ltd, Centrax Ltd, Claverham Ltd, Dowty Aerospace Hydraulics, Dowty Aerospace Propellors, Dowty Aerospace Wolverhampton, Dunlop Aircraft Tyres Limited, Dunlop Standard Aerospace Group, Gould Alloys Ltd, Hi-Shear Fasteners Europe Ltd, HS Marston Aerospace Limited, IMI Marston Ltd, J S Chinn & Co Ltd, RHP Aerospace Ltd, Rockwell-Collins (UK) Ltd, SPS Technologies Ltd, The Hymatic Engineering Company Limited, TI Reynolds Rings Ltd, UEF Aerospace, Vega Group, Weston Aerospace Ltd.
|
| £50m-£100m | AETC Ltd, AIM Group Plc, Dunlop Standard Aerospace Group, Flight Refuelling Ltd, FR Aviation Ltd, GKN Westland Ltd, Meggitt plc, Shorts Missile Systems Ltd, Ultra Electronics, Vickers Turbine Components Division.
|
| £100m-£1,000m | Alenia Marconi Systems, Bombardier Aerospace Shorts, British Aerospace PLC, Cobham PLC, EDS, GEC Marconi Avionics Ltd, Hunting PLC, Lockheed Martin UKGS Ltd, Matra Marconi Space Ltd, Smiths Industries plc, TRW Aeronautical Systems-Lucas Aerospace.
|
| £1,000m+ | British Aerospace plc, GKN Westland Ltd, Rolls-Royce plc.
|
Source: SBAC
OTHER AEROSPACE RELATED R&T INITIATIVES
EUROPEAN AERONAUTICAL
RESEARCH
Four priorities have been set for European aeronautics research
over the next eight to 10 years:
1. Cut procurement costs through reductions in aircraft
production costs by 35 per cent and development time by 15 to
20 per cent.
2. Improve efficiency and performance, with reduction
in fuel consumption by 20 per cent and general improvement in
reliability and direct operating costs.
3. Reduce noise and climate impacts as well as improve
pasenger environment, with reduction in emissions of NOX by 80
per cent and CO2 by 20 per cent and decrease of external and cabin
noise by 10dB each.
4. Improve operational capability and safety, through
reductions in aircraft maintenance costs by 25 per cent and decrease
in accident rates by at least the same factor as the growth in
traffic.
Technology integration and validation activities are focusing
on the following technology platforms; Low-cost, low-weight primary
structures; Efficient and environmentally friendly aero-engines;
Novel rotary-wing aircraft configurations; More autonomous aircraft
in the air traffic management systems; Power-optimised aircraft;
Low external noise aircraft; Low noise aircraft cabins; Novel
fixed-wing aircraft configurations and Integrated and modular
aircraft electronic systems.
US DOD R&T INITIATIVES
The US aerospace industry spends roughly £10 billion-£15
billion on R&D per annum—almost 10 times the level in
the UK. The Department of Defence (sic) has identified the following
technology programs which may help achieve US aviation safety
goals and objectives: Materials Technology; AV-8B Harrier Mishap
Reduction Program; Flying Qualities and Flight Control Technology;
Automatic Rating Technique; Flying Qualities Specification—Flight
Test; Passive Terrain Estimation Sensor Studies; Nonlinear Outer
Loop Control of Naval Aircraft; Vectoring ESTOL Control and Tailless
Operational Research; Tactical Weather Senors/Systems; Adaptive
Cockpit Hazard Monitoring SBIR; Bird Infrasound (also known as
Birdstrike Prevention/Survival); Fly-by-Light Advanced System
Hardware; Aging Aircraft; Helicopter Active Control Technology;
Rotorcaft Pilot's Associate; Advanced Display Technology; Visual
Information Processing and Displays; Design Paramaters for Visually-Coupled
Display Systems; Field Emission Display (FED) Cockpit Technology;
Cockpit Voice Integration; Real-time Information in the Cockpit
(RTIC); Flight Display Integration (FDI); Adaptive Interface Technology
and Refractive Turbulence.
In addition, strategic technologies are also to be developed
from the Aviation Safety Program AvSP investment by NASA.
NATO RESEARCH
NATO has recently produced the Aerospace Research and Development
(AGARD) study: Aerospace 2020. This study explored the most advanced
technologies, relevant to aerospace, being researched and developed
in laboratories today. The study focused on the most promising
current technologies and the organisational and tactical consequences
they will have at the field and system levels, over the course
of the next 25 years.
Key technologies assessed include: Aerospace engineering;
Weapon systems; Forecasting; Directed energy weapons; Arms proliferation;
Remotely piloted vehicles; Nuclear proliferation; AUV (Unmanned
Aerial Vehicle); Synthetic environments; Tactical aircraft; Miniaturisation,
Tactical warfare; Man machine systems; Hypersonic vehicles; Human
Factors engineerting; Air-breathing missiles; Man computer interface;
Launchers; Situational awareness; Fighter aircraft; Data fusion;
Threat evaluation; Communications networks; Laser weapons; Decision
making; Defence economics and Information systems.
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