AI<\/a> systems could disrupt defence as much as SpaceX transformed the launch business, as wars in Ukraine and Iran expose the need for faster developments and mass production. <\/p>\n“I know both worlds and they couldn’t be further apart,” said ex-Airbus \u200cCEO Tom Enders, who is co-chairman of German defence startup Helsing \u2060and heads foreign policy think tank DGAP. <\/p>\n
“We used to have a saying that traditional defence companies \u2026 would only pick up a pen if the government paid for it,” he said in an interview on the eve of the show. <\/p>\n
“The younger companies are aggressive, not risk-averse. They spend their own money. Procurement \u2060agencies and armed forces increasingly understand that this is the way for a dynamic fast-moving industry,” said Enders, who also chairs tank maker KNDS. <\/p>\n
While some new budgeted funds will be spent on today’s warplanes like the Lockheed Martin F-35 and the Eurofighter \u2014 both performing displays next week \u2014 startups like Helsing and U.S.-based Anduril are pushing AI-driven systems like uncrewed fighter cohorts, despite initial setbacks. <\/p>\n
“Valuations are tilting in favour of the defence \u200bentrants \u200bbut…most militaries are still spending the vast amount of their resources on manned platforms,” said Byron Callan, managing partner \u200bof research firm Capital Alpha. <\/p>\n
Organisers said defence will represent half of the \u200crecord 1,600 exhibitors at the show, up from 40% historically, with a sharp increase in AI, deep-tech and finance companies. <\/p>\n
COMMERCIAL JET SALES, SUPPLY CHAINS <\/p>\n
On the commercial side, Airbus and Boeing are expected to announce new orders and disclose customers behind previously booked deals. <\/p>\n
But with delivery slots largely sold out well into the next decade, the usual scrum of media announcements is likely to attract less attention as investors focus instead on aircraft deliveries, where manufacturers generate most profits. <\/p>\n
Air shows can still produce surprises, but industry sources said total deals may struggle to climb far above 300 aircraft, well below some pre-show forecasts of as many as 800 jets. The tally could also include deals that have already been announced. <\/p>\n
Separately, Air China said it would order 55 Airbus jets. <\/p>\n
“Winning orders is \u200cnot the question. It’s not the relevant measuring stick that it used to be because of production capacity constraints,” \u200bsaid Jerrold Lundquist, managing director of advisory firm The Lundquist Group. <\/p>\n
Aerospace has been wrestling with supply problems since COVID-19, \u200bespecially for castings and forgings \u2014 critical parts made to exacting standards from molten or \u200bsolid metal. <\/p>\n
Fixing such issues is key to a repeatedly delayed target by Airbus to lift single-aisle jet output by about 25% to 75 a month \u200cin 2027. Boeing, looking to narrow a gap against its rival and put \u200ba floor under declining market share, has signalled \u200bit is studying production above currently targeted levels. <\/p>\n
“The supply chain…has improved relative to where it was a year or two ago but (not) to the point where Airbus can pursue its goal of 75,” said manufacturing expert Kevin Michaels, managing director of AeroDynamic Advisory. <\/p>\n
“And as Boeing raises rates, it’s surely going to cause issues there as well,” he added. <\/p>\n
Delays in \u200bengines and interiors have also been among the most persistent supply-chain headaches. \u200cBut the show will open on a more positive note from the world’s largest engine maker. <\/p>\n
“I do think the supply chain has really turned the corner,” GE \u200bAerospace CEO Larry Culp told Reuters. “(There is) more work to do.” <\/p>\n
(Reporting by Tim Hepher, Cassell Byran-Low and Joanna Plucinska; Additional reporting by Dan Catchpole, Rajesh Kumar Singh, \u200bAllison Lampert, Shivansh Tiwary and David Shepardson; Editing by Joe Brock, Jamie Freed and Sharon Singleton) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Tim Hepher, Cassell Bryan-Low and Joanna Plucinska FARNBOROUGH, England, July 17 (Reuters) – Spiralling security risks are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3717,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[103,2321,14,1039,2292,2296,2293,2297,2291],"class_list":["post-3716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-airbus","tag-boeing","tag-defence-industry","tag-farnborough-airshow","tag-international-air-chiefs-conference","tag-royal-air-force","tag-security-risks","tag-tim-hepher","tag-tom-enders"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/defence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/defence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/defence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/defence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/defence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3716"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/defence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3716\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/defence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/defence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/defence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/defence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}