In the last thirty years, both civil and military sectors of the aerospace industry have seen unprecedented growth with developments to meet the increasing demand for effective and safe air based transportation and defences. This has in turn created a significant increase in global competition and the use of many advanced and innovative technologies from a wide spectrum of engineering disciplines, at all levels of the industry supply chain. Although of a small seat capacity, many modern business jets can now fly a non-stop distance of 5000 miles and beyond.
Military forces use a diverse range of aircraft to fulfil defence related functions.
These include attack, bomber, cargo, reconnaissance and training amongst others. This sector has seen the introduction of stealth aircraft technology and an acceleration in the race to produce the world's most agile fighter aircraft. This has led to Europe moving on from the Tornado programme to the Eurofighter Typhoon project which has developed through the nineties, led by project partners in the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain. The Typhoon is designed to be aerodynamically unstable with active computer control of the various flight control surfaces. This enables the aircraft to perform advanced combat manoeuvres with the speed, ease and precision which secure its place as a world class fighter.