Memorandum 52
Supplementary submission from the Royal
Aeronautical Society
PUTTING SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING AT THE HEART
OF GOVERNMENT POLICY
1. The UK aerospace industry has been one
of the unequivocal successes of UK manufacturing. A consistently
high investment in research and development, both public and private,
has been translated into an impressive export record. UK-based
companies produce world-class goods and services for the civil
and defence markets. The UK is especially well represented in
civil aero structures (especially civil aircraft wings), aero-engines,
helicopters, complex weapons, communication satellites and a comprehensive
range of equipment and electronic systems. While much of this
is designed for incorporation into international programmes, the
UK retains a high-level of systems integration and associated
systems engineering competence. This is high value employment,
drawing upon the skills and competence of the UK scientific and
engineering base.
2. UK aerospace has been well supported by successive
governments. Repayable launch investment has funded UK developments
in civil aircraft wings and aero engines. Investment in technology
acquisition, notably in composite materials, has helped UK industry
to retain its position in key sectors. The relative openness of
the UK to inward investment has attracted U.S. and European firms,
with concomitant commercial and technological gains. As exemplified
by the Centre for Manufacturing at Sheffield University, this
has led to the creation of centres of excellence that benefit
other industrial sectors. This underlines the value of aerospace
as a vehicle for technological diffusion throughout UK manufacturing.
While there are obvious geographic concentrations, aerospace,
especially through its extensive supply chain has an impact in
many UK regions, especially a number with low levels of research
intensity.
3. In the Society's view, this record justifies
continuing support for aerospace and for measures designed to
maintain the underpinning technology and skills base. In particular,
we would point to the challenges posed by sustainability. Growth
in civil aerospace is now predicated on the development of environmentally
friendly aircraft and engines. This will be necessary to reduce
the carbon footprint of airliners, their high altitude emissions,
as well as noise levels on take-off and landing. Achieving the
stringent targets now accepted by industry and increasingly set
by regulation will depend upon developing better understanding
of the scientific and technical factors explaining aviation's
impact on the environment. This in turn will drive research into
novel materials, structures and mechanics that will enable aerospace
to achieve sustainability by the 2020s. The UK is already in the
forefront of this research; there is a clear case for reinforcing
success and existing competence in green aerospace technology.
4. The development of better models of high
altitude climate change and carbon reduction technology will also
have wider benefits for UK manufacturing. The challenges set by
aerospace are especially demanding and will help to drive the
adoption of environmentally friendly products across the board.
5. Similarly, UK competence in space science
and technology represents a further broad-based catalyst for British
leadership in the exploitation of earth-resource satellite systems,
advanced communication and data gathering and transmission that
has had, and will continue to have an economic and socially transforming
effect.
6. The requirement for future success will
require a renewed dedication to supporting technology acquisition
through reinforcing the partnership between government, industry
and academia. The most demanding element will be to ensure an
adequate supply of trained personnel in the relevant engineering
disciplines, as well as in the applied environmental sciences.
The UK has found it hard in the past to maintain an adequate base
in these areas.
7. The recent decline in the demand for
maths and science graduates in the financial services sector may
afford some relief for companies seeking to recruit skilled personnel,
but this may only be a temporary shift in individual career opportunities.
It does not address the issue of supply of scientific and technologically
trained young people through secondary and tertiary education.
There are no new and easy solutions, but government and industry
must continue to press for long-term improvements in the quality
and attractiveness of engineering syllabi and the adoption of
more holistic approaches to training.
8. There may be a need to address the balance
of competing priorities in order to support aerospace and its
associated science and technology base. But this need not be as
drastic as it appears. Aerospace is a multi-disciplinary sector
and its requirements help to push the state-of-the-art across
many varied areas. Equally, with the right training and commitment
to lifetime learning, people will not necessarily be locked into
one industrial arena, but be available as a general skill base
for the UK economy.
9. Aerospace is a future orientated industry.
The UK has a world-class aerospace sector and is still protected
to some extent by high barriers to entry. However, many countries,
especially in the newly emerging economies of the Far East, have
targeted aerospace as a growth sector and a focus for high levels
of investment. These countries will challenge the UK's position
in world aerospace. The UK has few such remaining world-class
sectors and it would seem wise to maintain this capability and
to afford it some priority in national policies towards science
and engineering research and education.
April 2009
| 
