Flight International 2023 09.pdf

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FlightGlobal.com
September 2023
Top 100:
RTX powers
way into pole
position
Brakes applied to
F-35 deliveries
p18
Truss-t in
the future
Could X-66A influence Boeing’s
next narrowbody design?
p20
Big plans
Why Etihad
has brought
A380s back
p33
Training industry
eyes eVTOL lift
p56
£5.99
Sinking feeling
How regulator
could scuttle
Regent’s vessel
p66
Comment
Remember this?
Lafargue Raphael/ABACA/Shutterstock
Top that
The largest aerospace firms’ latest financials show a muted
recovery in 2022 – but long-term there is little to worry about
A
fter
the
all-but-total
collapse of global aviation
in 2020 and early 2021,
last year was supposed
to be when a relieved aerospace
industry soared past the Covid-19
storm clouds and into the blue
skies of recovery.
In many ways it did. After 18
months of abandoned holidays and
cancelled business conventions,
and a dearth of human contact
generally, the world’s appetite for
air travel returned with a bang in
2022 – shaking near-dormant air-
craft production lines back to life.
However, that came with caveats.
Skill shortages – a hangover of the
pandemic – created a dysfunction-
al supply chain, made worse by
unavailability or high prices of raw
materials because of the Ukraine
conflict and China’s stubborn
zero-Covid policy.
This is reflected in our latest
annual ranking of the Top 100 aero-
space businesses that indicates a
sector making modest progress
at best, with insipid revenue and
profit growth in what was meant to
be a bounce-back year.
Even many defence firms – who
were less affected by Covid-19
shutdowns – had a financial peri-
od to forget. Rising international
tensions, including Western sanc-
tions on Moscow, failed to feed
through to increased military
spending as fiscally spooked gov-
ernments tightened purse-strings.
So, two-thirds of the way through
the current year, where is the indus-
try on its journey to recovery? There
are many reasons for boardrooms,
shareholders, and the countries
that depend on a healthy domestic
aerospace sector to be positive.
First, there is innovation. Com-
panies, from the upper echelons
of the Top 100 to tiny start-ups,
are investing in technologies like
never before – not just new forms
of aerial platforms and propul-
sion, but materials and production
methods. We are entering a golden
age of advancement in aviation.
Related to that is the challenge of
creating a more sustainable indus-
try. Despite its vilification by the
hardline eco-lobby, aerospace is on
its way to becoming a true leader
in developing ways of traversing
the planet more cheaply, speedily,
and comfortably, while minimising
damage caused to it.
Vladimir Putin’s violent violation
of Ukraine’s sovereignty has shown
cautious spenders among NATO
members and their allies that pro-
tecting democracy and territorial
integrity by investing properly in
defence is not a luxury but the most
vital priority of any government.
However, perhaps most of all,
the rapid bounce-back in air travel
since the lifting of border restric-
tions and strict testing require-
ments proves – just as did similar
returns in demand after 9/11 and
the global financial crisis – that
long-term growth prospects for
the industry remain strong.
There is one other notable de-
velopment in the Top 100. The ap-
pearance of Raytheon Technologies
– now RTX – at number one hints at
a potential power shift. The big two
commercial airframers have tradi-
tionally topped the table (although
last year it was Lockheed Martin).
While not too much should be
read into this – the Top 100, after
all, is a society where few members
are admitted, and relative status
rarely changes – it is the first time
a supplier, albeit one with a signif-
icant line in direct contracting for
the Pentagon, has taken top spot.
It means Airbus and Boeing are
now commissioning engines, avion-
ics, seating, and landing gear from a
vendor that is – in terms of revenue
at least – a bigger heavyweight in
aerospace than they are.
◗
See p44
September 2023
Flight International
3
In focus
P&W puts airlines in a spin
over HPT blade quality
6
Archer gains Boeing investment
and settles Wisk legal fight
8
Boom tunes Symphony plan
10
AW101 propels Poland
12
Challenger stalled as pilot tried
to salvage unstable approach
14
F-35 deliveries slowed
by TR-3 slip
18
Boeing puts trust in truss
20
USAF ups eVTOL investment
24
Export veto threatens FCAS
26
‘Winter of discontent’ warning
for air cargo sector
28
Etihad brings A380s back
to life 33
Japan eyes strike role for C-2
37
12
What lies beneath
First anti-submarine
warfare AW101 arrives for Poland
FlightGlobal.com
September 2023
Top 100:
RTX powers
way into pole
position
8
£5.99
Brakes applied to
F-35 deliveries
p18
Truss-t in
the future
Could X-66A influence Boeing’s
next narrowbody design?
p20
Big plans
Why Etihad
has brought
A380s back
p33
Training industry
eyes eVTOL lift
p56
NASA
Sinking feeling
How regulator
could scuttle
Regent’s vessel
p66
Regulars
Comment
3
Best of the rest
40
Straight & Level
76
Letters
78
Women in aviation
82
4
Flight International
September 2023
Contents
In depth
Not yet normal
44
The last financial year saw a
recovery for many aerospace
firms – but problems remain
City flyers
56
How will eVTOL pilots train for
the challenge of urban aviation?
Blank checkride
60
The pilot examination system in
the USA is struggling to cope
as demand rises to a new high
Crash landings
64
Several UK flying schools have
failed, leaving students in debt
Plane sailing?
66
New wing-in-ground-effect
craft could soon be riding the
waves – if regulators allow it
Global player
72
The hot topics at this year’s
DSEI exhibition
33
44
82
September 2023
Flight International
5

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