Aerospace & Defense

Strategic Context

The global aerospace sector is under pressure: despite record order books, supply chains are struggling to keep up, slowing the pace of production. At the same time, the war in Ukraine and geopolitical tensions are stimulating a strong upturn in defense investment, with massive rearmament and a race for innovation in advanced military technologies.

The aerospace and defense sectors, dominated by global industrial giants, are characterized by :

Long, costly and highly regulated innovation cycles, requiring massive investment in propulsion, materials and manufacturing
Strong dependence on technological sovereignty and resilient supply chains in a fragmented geopolitical context
A constrained energy transition, driven by SAF (sustainable aviation fuel), electrification and hydrogen - the latter facing technological and regulatory obstacles despite its initial potential
Geographic shifts in demand, with an overall increase in spending on aviation and defense, but particularly marked growth in India, Southeast Asia and the Middle East for aviation, while defense investments are intensifying mainly in Europe, East Asia and the United States

Current Challenges in the Sector

Maexinvent's teams advise companies in the sector on the many challenges they face:

Supply chain under stress Critical shortages (engines, materials, cabin equipment), longer lead times, pressure on production rates
Weakened industrial quality Operational drift due to ramp-up, costly incidents, loss of confidence in manufacturing standards
Investments under constraint Complex trade-offs between supporting current conflicts and financing breakthrough technologies
Military cybersecurity Vulnerability of legacy systems, the need to accelerate digital modernization and cyber resilience
Trade protectionism : tariffs, national measures (e.g. Buy American Act), loss of competitiveness for non-American manufacturers
Industrial consolidation Mergers and acquisitions strengthening certain groups, tensions over sovereignty and imbalances in value chains
Geopolitical fragmentation sovereignist withdrawal, duplication of programs, slowdown in cross-border cooperation
Energy transition out of sync Ambitious climate targets, but technologies (SAF, hydrogen, electric) still immature and costly
Post-Covid legacy fragile industrial capacities, labor shortages, lasting financial imbalances in the supply chain

Examples of problems encountered

Our latest publications

Clear findings, proven methods, and measurable results to manage complexity, from scoping to execution.

Supply Chain Crisis Management in Aerospace & Defense

Before the health crisis, growth was stable and the challenges well identified. Today, broader crises and the lack of safety stocks are having a major impact, while production is accelerating at an unprecedented rate.

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Quality Management in Aeronautics & Defense

In aerospace and defense, quality is the key lever for producing more at a lower cost. The acceleration of production rates since COVID and the war in Ukraine has exposed the limitations of current quality systems.

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Paradigm shift in aerospace

In addition to the high investment requirements to increase capacity, the aerospace sector must transform itself to cope with growing complexity and meet its challenges...

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