Ready or not, it’s the revolution

Aerospace and defense are entering an era of unprecedented opportunities, challenges, and hazards. Autonomy and electrical propulsion are reshaping air vehicles as radically as the jet engine did. Climate change is forcing the pace for adoption of new energy sources and could restructure air transportation beyond recognition.

Defense customers are tired of 25-year R&D timelines. Old-money titans are being challenged by innovators fueled by private finance – but which one has the next iPhone, and which one is selling you a Segway?

Billions have already been invested in this revolution – and much of it has already been lost, because aerospace and defense is the graveyard of those who underestimate the climate: heavily regulated, with rules that are interpreted rather than unambiguous. As in the railway mania of the 1800s, many projects will never show a return.