Aerospace Industries Association
September 2009 Viewpoint
AIA will celebrate the first-ever National Aerospace Day on Sept. 16. 
A number of events are planned in Washington that day to drive home to the administration and Congress the value of the aerospace and defense industry to America’s history, economy, technological innovation, national security and workforce. And it's a great occasion to thank our companies' employees for the invaluable work they do for our country.
“Aerospace and Defense: the Strength to Lift America” — the tagline of AIA’s advertising campaign this year — reminded officials about the two million-plus high-paying jobs across all 50 states that this industry supports. And, yes, while the country is trying to figure out how to make ends meet, let’s not forget that aerospace and defense is holding strong, hasn’t asked for a bailout and has the largest positive trade balance of any manufacturing sector.
Contrast those positive messages, however, with some alarming statistics flagged by Aviation Week and Space Technology magazine in a recent editorial. Aviation Week cites the plummeting U.S. market share in certain product sectors and the downward slide of market capitalization performance among aerospace companies on the S&P 500 as warning signs of the industry’s decline.
The editorial — “Aerospace’s Perfect Storm” — calls for a Marshall Plan to develop solutions to the challenges that face us in export controls, acquisition reform, workforce and technology development.
I agree with Aviation Week on some points, but I contend that we’ve had our Marshall Plan — the 2002 Presidential Commission on the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry. What the commission called for, but hasn’t happened, is development of a partnership between government and industry that would implement identified solutions or forge new ones.
This industry is highly regulated, which makes sense given our responsibility to aviation safety as well as the fact that much of our production is financed through taxpayer dollars. However, when the government fails to recognize the complexities of how industry operates in the global market, the results can be disastrous. And, unfortunately, the outcome hits not only our bottom line, but also our most valued resource — our workforce.
Here are some examples:
- A provision on foreign repair stations in the FAA reauthorization bill currently under consideration puts 130,000 U.S. jobs at risk.
- Failure to develop a long-term plan for our space transportation needs has resulted in at least a five-year gap between the retirement of the space shuttle and the next space transportation system. That has triggered thousands of job losses as the space industrial base adjusts and downsizes.
- A 1998 law that requires control of exports of commercial communications satellites and related technologies as defense items contributed to the U.S. share of the global satellite market plummeting from 70 to 27 percent.
I would be remiss, however, if I didn’t mention some good news on this front. The White House just announced that the National Economic Council and National Security Council will be conducting a top-to-bottom review of our export control system. This is the sort of action that speaks well of the administration’s concern for more effective control of sensitive technology as well as consideration of the economic factors that affect the competitiveness of this industry.
In closing, let me emphasize that National Aerospace Day is important for two strong reasons: It’s another opportunity to remind Congress and the administration about the value of the industry, and it’s a great way to say “job well done” to all the men and women of the aerospace and defense workforce.
Aerospace and defense employees are patriots who take great pride in their work, whether producing systems for warfighters, delivering world-class aviation systems or enabling explorers to reach the outermost limits of space.
I encourage all AIA members to become part of National Aerospace Day, not only to remind the government about the industry’s strengths and challenges, but also to recognize our employees and those of our suppliers who together really do have "The Strength to Lift America."
MCB