Civil and military technologies in close formation

As the Farnborough International Air Show nears, Keith Hayward of the Society of British Aerospace Companies discusses some of the issues and trends that will be addressed at this year's event.

Software integration and materials science will be two of the major technology subjects for discussion at next month's SBAC (Society of British Aerospace Companies) Farnborough International Air Show. Both are regarded as central to the successful, continuing development of commercial and military aviation. That commonality of interest between the two industry sectors is now stronger than it has been for decades, believes Keith Hayward, Head of Economic Affairs at the SBAC. “Commercial aircraft design can benefit from some military program technologies and, as budgets tighten, military programs can benefit from the civil manufacturers' and operators' emphasis on life-cycle costs, maintainability, and reliability,” he said.

The on-off relationship between military and commercial elements of the aircraft industry goes back to the early days of powered flight. Then, as pilots were struggling to get airborne in flimsy aircraft, the emergence of aviation technology was not only civilian-based, but in most instances, rested on the personal determination of individuals to demonstrate that they could design and build aircraft and had the nerve to fly them. In Britain much of this early flying took place at Farnborough, one of the early pioneers there being the American S.F. Cody. The military was relatively slow to appreciate the full potential of aircraft, and it was not until World War I had been fought for some months that it was realized. As a result, aviation technology then burgeoned in the light of military necessity. After the war, the situation reversed and the demand for commercial services increased, particularly during the 1930s, when stressed skin monoplanes with improved aerodynamics started to replace the slow, crude biplanes. Among the most significant of this new generation of passenger aircraft was the Douglas DC3, some of which are still flying commercially, serving both military and civil needs. In the mid- to late 1930s, with the threat of another war in Europe, military aviation technology advanced sharply with the emergence of a new technological generation of fighter aircraft, including the Supermarine Spitfire (and later the North American P-51 Mustang) and of four-engined long-range bombers, such as the Avro Lancaster, Boeing B-l7 Flying Fortress, and Consolidated B-24 Liberator. The advent of the jet engine in the 1940s initially gave the military a technology lead, but commercial aviation quickly started to catch up, with the de Havilland Comet entering service in 1952 and the Boeing 707 in 1954.