Sir - The editorial "Europe 0, USA 1" was correct to spell out the global complexities of the world aerospace industry today.
The joint British Aerospace/ Lockheed Martin venture on the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) may well represent the future. This does not mean, however, the end of European/US rivalry.
The issue now is Boeing. If the merger goes ahead with McDonnell Douglas, the market power of Boeing will be awesome. Moreover, Boeing's capabilities will make it central to US Department of Defense procurement policy built around the new "system-of-systems" defence concept. As a monolith, Boeing will not just be a threat to European manufacturers. Hence the good sense of Europe's constructive attitude to Lockheed Martin and other US manufacturers.
We should beware, however. In the USA, there have not been the cutbacks in public funding of research and development anticipated five years ago. President Bill Clinton is determined to revitalise the US high-technology industry, and Boeing is at the forefront. To be a partner in this is an attractive prospect - to be its victim is not.
Professor P Lawrence
Director
Aerospace Research Group
Bristol University
Bristol, UK
Source: Flight International
