Introduction French aeronautic and space industry Airbus, just taking off EADS, the giant of the sector UAV (drone) – the fastest growing sector in aerospace UAV – Europe’s challenge New Aerospace Product Launches: unveiled at Le Bourget Le Bourget – The Paris Airshow 2009

New Aerospace Product Launches: unveiled at Le Bourget

Emblematic of the latest trends in aerospace, several new product launches, unveiled at Le Bourget Airshow, are worth highlighting. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), cheerfully nicknamed drones, continue to multiply. Some 32 countries are estimated to be currently building more than 250 different models of drones, used especially for military purposes (see IBT newsletter of March 2009). The production of drones is dominated by American fabricators, closely followed by manufacturers from France and Israel.

This year EADS presents its brand new helidrone ORKA. This helidrone (mixture between a drone and a helicopter) is designed specifically for use during rescue operations at sea, ship protection, or battlefield observation. The use of drones is being extended beyond the foothills of Afghanistan. Today, drones are being tested for civilian air transport. In the near future, drones could be used in tasks ranging from freight transport, cartography to scientific surveys. Despite criticism of their over-use in current military situations, drones clearly have a strong outlook ahead.

The second major trend evident at the Paris Airshow was the ambitions of several global manufacturers to enter the mid-scale, regional passenger planes. One of the most anticipated events at the Paris Air Show 2009 was the presentation of the new Sukhoi Superjet 100, marking the comeback of the Russian constructor into the passenger transport after almost twenty years. The SSJ-100 is a direct competitor of the Embraer 170 and Bombardier CRJ-series. Following the Russian initiative several other constructors are planning to launch their passenger aircraft programme.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) officially launched the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) programme, a next-generation regional jetliner, on March 28 2008. The MRJ is planned to take off in 2013. Bombardier has plans to compete directly with Embraer and maybe even Boeing and Airbus with their new C-Series. The aircraft designed for 130-150 places will also be ready in 2013 and is claimed to be very cost effective (12-13% less fuel use than other rival-sized planes). Behind the Great Wall, the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) is preparing the C919, designed for the national market where demand is estimated to require 3,400 new planes within the next twenty years.