Aerospace / Defense

Since its inception, the aviation sector has been closely linked to the defence sector. Many civilian innovations have been developed from military programmes (e.g. the jet engine).

Developed to transport goods and people across countries and continents, it allows everyone to monitor their borders (zone defence, anti-drugs). With new technologies, it is becoming automated, intelligent and seeing the arrival of the drone (UAV/USV/ROV/UGV) in its ranks. Autonomous or remotely piloted, they can improve surveillance operations, rapidly deliver medical equipment, protect personnel (e.g. naval or land-based mine countermeasures) or reduce operational costs.

At the same time, the airline industry is addressing global climate issues and is working to reduce its carbon footprint (flight path optimisation, biofuels, hydrogen or electric engines).

The latest technologies also allow for better training of personnel in different operational situations, such as the use of virtual/augmented reality goggles, which tend to reduce the risk of incidents in real life situations.

The challenges of securing data are multi-sectoral and therefore very important in the aviation and defence sectors. Protecting data and identities to secure access and control of information are challenges for cryptographic and cyber security engineers.