Airbus, Pilatus, Dassault Aviation, and Rolls-Royce Holdings are some of the prominent aircraft OEM & component manufacturers in the Europe region. Thales Group, Avaco Systems Inc., Saab AB, and BAE Systems are some of the region’s leading aircraft computers market players. BAE Systems offer Mission Computing Capabilities and flight control systems in aircraft computers. In February 2022, BAE Systems delivered its 3,000th vehicle management computer (VMC) and 1,000th active inceptor system (AIS) to Lockheed Martin for the F-35 Lightning II aircraft. The presence of prominent airline companies such as Ryanair, Lufthansa Group, Turkish Airlines and Pegasus Airlines and MRO providers such as TAP Maintenance & Engineering and Air France KLM is also contributing to the growth of aircraft computers market in the region.
BAE Systems Plc, General Electric, Honeywell International Inc., Lockheed Martin Corporation, and Thales Group– Prominent Market Participants in Aircraft Computers Market
European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company is one of the prominent aerospace companies which manufacture commercial and military aircraft. Airbus is one of the leading aircraft providers in the region; Airbus gets Aircraft computers from HENSOLDT for its EuroGrid Tactical Mission Computers. Pooley’s is one of the prominent manufacturers of aircraft computers in Europe. The company’s products include CRP-9 Circular computer, HPC-1 Holding Pattern Computer, LPC-1 Landing Pattern Computer, etc. In September 2021, The Veronte Mission Computer device collaborated with Veronte Autopilot to process mass data. These strategies by the aircraft computers market players will contribute to the growth of the aircraft computers market in the region.
Despite the economic downfall faced by European nations, some countries such as Germany, and the Netherlands, allocated significant amounts to their respective aerospace sector in 2020. The European countries are adopting strategies to contribute in their aerospace sector, such as providing financial support to aerospace sector. In 2020, the region witnessed the grounding of aircraft which resulted in the retirement of older aircraft due to lack of maintenance and this increased the manufacturing of new aircraft which subsequently influence the aircraft computers market growth.
By observing the increase in demand for flight control systems in 2021, the manufacturer implemented strategies to recover their business up to pre COVID level. For instance, Airbus Europe collaborated with Thales and Diehl Aerospace to manufacture CityAirbus NextGen’s flight control computers. The core flight control system for CityAirbus NextGen. The emergence of COVID-19 slightly impacted the aircraft computer market players as they had to operate with a partial workforce which impacted the timely deliveries of the flight control systems. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, several companies witnessed a reduction in aircraft demand. For instance, Airbus had to cut production on several programs, and the company is now looking to hold underlying jet output at 40% below pre-pandemic plans for two years. The A320 production rate had been reduced to 40 aircraft per month, down from an average of over 53 aircraft per month in 2019. However, in 2021, Airbus confirmed that the company is considering increasing 47 A320neo jets per month. However, the European aircraft computer manufacturers received contracts for their solutions from global aircraft companies, which enabled the market to witness positive growth since 2021. For instance, in February 2022, BAE Systems delivered 3,000th vehicle management computer (VMC) and 1,000th active inceptor system (AIS) to Lockheed Martin for the F-35 Lightning II aircraft, marking two important platform manufacturing milestones.
The top five companies in the market are Honeywell International, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Thales Group, BAE Systems Plc, and GE Aviation. The above listing of key players is derived by considering multiple factors such as overall market insights, dynamic trends, revenue, current general aviation portfolio, new product launches, market initiatives, investment in technology up-gradation, mergers & acquisitions, and other joint activities. A few of the important market initiatives and product developments from the industry are mentioned below:
| Year | News | Country |
| 2022 | Airbus Europe signed an agreement with Australian airline company Qantas Airways to provide its A350–1000 aircraft. These aircraft will be launched by the end of 2025. Airbus is targeting to deliver 720 commercial aircraft ‘the European airframer’ to the European aerospace group. The company delivered 611 aircraft in 2021. | Europe |
| 2022 | Collins Aerospace announced that their PerigonTM computer would be the first approved aviation solution to employ the Intel Atom x6400E CPU. The enhanced processor will enable Perigon’s capacity to service clients’ next-generation flight control and vehicle management requirements across a wide variety of commercial and defence systems. | North America |
| 2022 | The Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) has granted Garmin’s GRMN GI 275 electronic flight instrument Supplemental Type Certification (“STC”) for use in certain Part 27 VFR helicopters. GI 275 meets a variety of needs. It can be used as a primary attitude indicator because it is reliable, light in weight, and requires little maintenance. | North America |
