Europe is facing major decisions when it comes to its next generation combat aircraft strategy. Although types such as the Dassault Rafale, the Eurofighter Typhoon, and the Lockheed Martin F-35 will be playing a vital role into the second half of the century, decisions will have to be made soon about how prepared nations are to retain an independent defense manufacturing capability as part of a pan European collaboration, or whether to rely on off the shelf transatlantic solutions that may come with some industrial offset. Recent years have seen the UK, now with Italy and Sweden, initiate the Tempest project, while France and Germany have chosen to pursue their own course. With Brexit an additional factor, is a combined industrial effort between Europe’s major defence players the most likely outcome? 

Moderated by: Craig Hoyle

Even before the coronavirus crisis, the aircraft manufacturers’ product plans had been dealt several blows, with the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max, questions over the NMA, and the termination of the Airbus A380 programme. With demand for airliners now likely to be extremely soft for at least two years, how will that affect prospects for the main narrowbody and widebody types in the medium term. And, beyond that, what now for the next generation of single-aisle aircraft earmarked to replace the 737 and A320 families in the 2030s, and the new technologies behind them? Will the manufacturers have to take their entire product strategies back to the drawing board?

Moderated by: Max Kingsley-Jones

The need for speed and the desire to go green. In recent years, aerospace innovators have enticed us with the promise of both supersonic business jets and battery-powered aircraft that do not rely on fossil fuels. What might have been dismissed as the dreams of idealists less than a decade ago are closer than ever to becoming reality with developments such as the Aerion AS2 and the Eviation Alice attracting backing from both investors and big names in the industry. In this webinar we assess the engineering and commercial prospects of some of these disruptive products – can they address the physics as well as delivering a profit? And how might they change aviation for the better?

Moderated by: Murdo Morrison