Commentary - Gordon Page CBE
Charman Cobham PLC
In 1988, I chaired a small group, drawn from the then Innovation The Industry comprises more than 3,000 companies and employs nearly 120,000 people directly and 300,000 indirectly in the UK. Nearly 40,000 people are employed overseas by UK companies. The Industry is one of the UK’s largest exporters and, on average, adds £2.5 billion annually to the UK balance of trade. The UK Aerospace sector is second only to pharmaceuticals in terms of value-added per head in the manufacturing sector. Since 1995 the UK share of the $200 billiona- year global aerospace market has risen from 9% to 13%. Over the same period, basic productivity (sales per employee) has increased by 140% and value-added productivity (value-added per employee) by a remarkable 200%.
The UK Aerospace industry relies absolutely upon a vibrant research and technology base to remain competitive. Technology enables product and process development, facilitating participation at a high level in international ventures. It also provides the critical design and development dynamic ensuring UK participation in both high value manufacturing and systems integration. New technology can take up to 15 years to progress from basic science to product application so it is clear that a failure to develop technology effectively today will severely impede long term industry health. The industry also relies on the skills and competencies needed to exploit its output in marketable products.
Aerospace is one of only two UK industries that maintain globally competitive levels of expenditure on product development and research and technology. There is a strong link between this investment, the financial success of the Industry and its contribution to UK wealth creation. Historically this has been underpinned by research and technology validation programmes promoted by HMG in close collaboration with industry. These have been the basis of the current success in areas such as aero engines and wing design. These programmes have been crucial in bridging the gap between pure science and industrial exploitation whilst reducing risk by early demonstration.
However, the industry is facing relentless pressure from countries who are aggressively promoting their own aerospace industries. To survive and build a sustainable future, UK Aerospace must raise its game.
With the publication of the Government’s Defence Industrial Policy in November 2002 and the Aerospace Innovation and Growth Team (AeIGT) report in June 2003, we have the basis upon which more focused national aerospace innovation can take place. Much of this article is based on these initiatives in which I have been involved.
In the military sector we have seen the creation of MoD Towers of Excellence, Defence Technology Centres and Research Competition. Today’s emphasis is to package work into themes by technologies or applications. Recent changes represent a significant step towards devolution of research to the aerospace and academic community in all but a few highly sensitive areas, bringing universities and industry together to manage research programmes in co-operation with HMG.
The Towers of Excellence approach is based on the recognition that with a reduction in defence spending, the UK needs to focus in areas where it already has a significant defence capability. To date, Towers have been established in Radar, Guided Weapons, Electro-optic Sensors, Underwater Sensors and Synthetic Environments. In other areas, the aim is to ensure that funding is sufficient to enable informed decisions to be made about equipment procurement. Towers are complemented by Defence Technology Centres (DTCs) and were officially launched in 2002. These are virtual entities that aim to provide a forum for industrial and academic collaboration with MoD. DTC activities are highly relevant to aerospace, with themes that cover Electromagnetic Remote Sensing (EMRS), Data and Information Fusion and Human Factors integration. New DTCs expected to follow include Autonomous Vehicles and Systems Engineering.
Turning now to the civil sector, although the DTI Civil Aerospace Research and Demonstration budget, together with other sectoral schemes, has been closed to new proposals, these are being replaced by twice-yearly calls for collaborative research and knowledge transfer networks under a national technology strategy. This will focus on supporting key technologies across all industrial sectors and I am confident that the aerospace industry can benefit from this by drawing on the national aerospace technology strategy developed by the Aerospace IGT. A welcome early development from the work of the AeIGT has been the DTI’s announcement of support, in conjunction with the RDAs and industry, totalling £30m to establish a network of Centres of Excellence for advanced composites. In addition, repayable launch investment is still potentially available but is now subject to renewed pressure from US competitors.
The Government has also recently confirmed its commitment to the future of the UK’s Export Credit Guarantee Department as a trading fund and to reduce premium prices.
My own group, Cobham, is active in a diverse range of applied research spanning civil, military and space sectors. In the last four years, we have increased sales by 91%, R&D spend by 101% and maintained operating profit above 15% of sales. In addition, the group has invested a significant level of capital expenditure on facilities, equipment and specialist aircraft. Focused R&D and capital expenditure are fundamental to the competitive growth of Cobham.
Within Cobham, research is encouraged through a number of channels, but particularly within centres of excellence. One example of this is a £4m research programme into revolutionary low profile satellite communications antenna technology, part-funded by the DTI. This collaborative research programme addresses the market for providing broadband information and entertainment to the travelling public, to fill the gap between home and office. It involves a key breakthrough in low cost antenna technology patented by ERA Technology, a recent acquisition by the group. The aptly named SPITFIRE (Satcom Programme on Integrated Terminals For Interactive and Receive-only Entertainment) project is researching technology which will provide cost-effective two-way broadband communications to passenger airliners. Its emphasis on low profile antenna technology meets the needs of carriers to minimise the increase in drag and hence fuel costs. The interest in this technology has been immense and offers considerable potential for military broadband communications on the move across a range of platforms providing an enabling technology that supports Network Enabled Capability (NEC).
Similar technology is now being readied for trials onboard trains across Europe and a demonstration system is currently being trialed in the US for satellite TV reception for Sports Utility Vehicles. The former has been part-funded by the European Space Agency under the advanced research telecoms programme (ARTES-4) initiative, using fifty percent funds supplied by the UK Government through the British National Space Centre.
Across the aerospace sector it is absolutely key to foster and attract the skills necessary to meet the challenges ahead. Work with SEMTA, the Sector Skills council and the adoption of High Performance Work Organisation practices will help to assemble the complex jigsaw of competitive productivity.
Our challenges are now wider than before and include the environmental impact of aerospace, the need for a much more efficient air traffic management system, and vastly improved safety and security systems. We will certainly be busy in the years ahead, and R&D will be a vital component of our future success.
