Livre blanc
In 1966, Adrian Lombard presented the first Royal Society Technology Lecture Aircraft: Power Plants Past, Present and Future. In his presentation, Lombard indicated that the chosen subject was a "very topical one both because of the very advanced technology required for the design and manufacture of aero engines and of the interest which has recently centred on the aircraft industry in this country and the controversy on its future". Among the controversial issues highlighted by Lombard and centering on the aircraft industry was the Duncan Sandys 1957 Defence White paper. The industry had a number of setbacks, perhaps the most drastic of them was the 1957 Defence White Paper, which erroneously forecast that there would be no new manned aircraft. Following on from the erroneous 1957 White paper and hard on its heels was the Labour government inspired Plowden enquiry that Lombard criticised for causing long term uncertainty for the UK aviation industry. Yet despite the apparent political efforts to stall the British aviation industry, Lombard emphasised that '...the British aero engine industry has retained its technical competitive capability...' and he demonstrated the value of competitive technologies, which led the export of aero engines and returned a major financial contribution to the UK economy: 'The value of engine exports over the last twelve years or so was nearly £650 million excluding engines installed in export aircraft'.