Perhaps most significant is the end of the cold war, bringing dramatic reductions in defense spending including development of new aircraft and engines. Additionally, the global airline industry financial state is weak, seriously affecting orders, backlogs, and deliveries of new aircraft. Finally, we see strong government support for development of aeronautics industries in other countries, representing a substantial challenge to our U.S. lead. Organizational reaction to these challenges has been swift and dramatic. We have gone, for example, from seven major producers of fixed-wing military aircraft to five.
Government agencies are down sizing and restructuring.
A large portion of the aeronautics infrastructure base is scheduled for shutdown. Aeronautics departments in many universities are dissolving. In spite of these dramatic changes and fiscally responsible reactions, we must maintain U.S. leadership in the global aeronautics industry if we are to preserve the national security and economic competitiveness benefits derived from aeronautics. Therefore, what is now needed is a national focus on increased collaboration to meet these challenges and accomplish our national goals. An integrated national vision and strategy for aeronautics investment must be developed.