ISMR July/August 2021 | Page 20

INDUSTRY REPORT

“ Continuous investment and innovation , with an eye on sustainability , skills and diversity , is key to maintaining market share in aerospace and defence markets .”
A typical operating theatre .

INDUSTRY REPORT

Serve and Protect

We spotlight sources of future spending , growth and innovation in global aerospace and defence markets .

Global defence spending has been on a major upswing led by the return to competition amongst leading geopolitical powers , spearheaded by R & D-led technological evolution , according to the ‘ Global Aerospace & Defence Market Annual Review 2021 ’ ( ResearchAndMarkets . com ).

“ The realignment of U . S . defence spending focus on competing with near peer adversaries and maintaining the traditional overmatch over adversaries has accelerated the pace of replacement of ageing equipment , with several new defence contract awards over recent years . Many others are in the pipeline and remain a key focus area for the industry given their strategic nature , scale as well as scope and long-term horizon ,” said the report .
This shift in strategic focus entails fast-tracked procurement of systems and hardware besides rapid development and deployment of next-generation capabilities to plug existing and potential capabilities gaps , along with continued R & D to maintain technological edge .
An eye on defence spending
“ Defence spending has been on a sustained growth trajectory in the EU as well , with the French defence budget for 2021 registering an increase over 2020 in line with France ' s 2019-2025 military programme law ( despite the pandemic and economic pressures ). German defence spending is poised for a 3.9 % increase for 2021 and is likely to remain stable through to 2024 , auguring well for joint Franco-German defence programmes going forward . The European aerospace & defence industry is witnessing a growing trend towards the pursuit of joint defence equipment development programmes ,” said the report .
The growth in demand is being counterbalanced by technological advances and developments , led by industry , which incentivise the replacement of legacy defence hardware worldwide with next-generation equipment . This often marks a quantum leap in
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