European Aeronautics: Strong Government Presence in Industry Structure and Research and Development Support.

摘要

The aeronautics industry is a major contributor to national security, commerce, and transportation. The industry is considered a technology driver that leads to spin-offs of advanced technology products that support other sectors of the national economy. The aeronautics industry comprises three major sectors-airframe, engine, and equipment. This report focuses on the airframe and engine sectors. The airframe sector usually includes final assembly of the aircraft. In 1992, manufacturers in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom sold aeronautics products valued at about $52 billion. Civil and military aeronautics products contributed roughly equally to that amount, except for Germany, where civil products accounted for about 61 percent of sales. The major large civil transport aircraft manufacturers in the U.S. are Boeing and McDonnell Douglas, and their principal foreign competitor in the global market for such aircraft is the Airbus consortium (established in 1969). Airbus is a consortium of the major civil aircraft manufacturers in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Spain. Recently, Airbus has replaced McDonnell Douglas as the second-largest supplier in the global market for commercial jet transport aircraft (Boeing is the largest supplier). This market, according to one forecast, may be worth almost $2 trillion through the year 2030. In addition, European aircraft manufacturers have made major inroads in the markets for short-haul aircraft-commuter aircraft, rotorcraft, and general aviation airplanes. in fact, European manufacturers dominate the commuter aircraft market and have about one-third of the business aircraft market.