STRATEGIC RESEARCH AGENDA 1

The Strategic Research Agenda is the plan for materialising the 2020 Vision and the goals it identifies. Those goals are to make Europe the world leader in aeronautics through collaboration, strengthened and guided by a single shared vision. Common mechanisms will be created for research and technological development in the service of a leading-edge sector symbolising European industrial ingenuity and excellence. A world-class European air transport system that meets society's needs is also a key aim of the "2020 Vision", including noise reduction, emission reduction, reducing travel delays, and safer air transport.

This first edition of the Strategic Research Agenda is in three separate volumes

Executive summary oriented to informing European decision and opinion makers, provides a general survey of the SRA and its implementation issues.
Volume 1, oriented to informing European decision and opinion makers, provides a general survey of the SRA objectives, the research content, resources, enabling factors for implementation and strategic recommendations.
Volume 2, oriented to the Stakeholders that must implement the SRA, provides the detailed technical background to the SRA recommendations. It connects the Top Level Objectives to the individual technical solutions, R&T capabilities and initiatives and provides a basis for the construction of individual research programmes and projects.

Fig. 1

As figure Fig. 1 shows these two volumes are separate sides of the same coin, the SRA is the whole and Volume 1 is not merely a summary of Volume 2 but a part of the SRA that faces a different way.

In support of these two volumes an Executive Summary aimed at extracting the salient points has also been created.

The SRA is an iterative process. With time the horizon will move on. Technical achievements will need to be recognised in planning future work. The conditions that influence the needs and capabilities of the ATS will change. So the SRA will develop and evolve. This Edition 1 is a first iteration in this cycle. It is ACARE's intention to produce further editions at about 2-3 year intervals.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Executive Summary is composed of the following major sections, please feel free to use these hyperlinks to navigate your way through the document.

BACKGROUND

Aviation and a New Age and An imperative for Europe
Proud of its contributions during the first century of flight, world aeronautics now stands at the threshold of the new, third age of aviation. First came the Pioneering Age, from the inception of powered flight to the jet airliner. Then, the Commercial Age, which has become familiar to all with 50 years of dramatic air traffic growth. Today, Europe approaches a watershed, bright with opportunity, but heavy with risk, at the start of the New Age - the Age of Sustainable Growth - requiring more affordable, cleaner, quieter, safer and more secure air travel. See Fig. 2.

Fig. 2

Last year's formation of the Advisory Council for Aeronautics Research in Europe (ACARE) signalled that Europe is ready to seize these opportunities in the new age of aviation and will not succumb to the risks. The relentless increase in aviation traffic cannot be endured by the world's present systems, particularly in Europe, for more decades without profound and unacceptable penalties. Fundamental changes in perspective will be required in future years to balance upward demand and the broader needs of society for economic and social benefits. The solutions must embrace such challenges as noise, emissions, congestion, delays and inconvenience. Europe now has a fresh opportunity to shape its contribution to the global future of aeronautics and the Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) will provide the technological foundations for it.

How it all started

The Commercial Age was a period during which major advances were made in terms of speed and range. More aircraft tended to mean more noise and more fuel consumed but this was tackled aggressively by the aircraft and engine builders. Engine and aerodynamic efficiency were raised, noise was dramatically reduced, and fuel consumption halved. Larger aircraft were introduced. Despite all of this success the relentlessly rising tide of demand has brought the aviation community to the realisation that all air traffic demand forecasts indicated fundamental problems for the future. Social change and familiarity, as well as the increase in traffic, means that protests have become louder - not just against noise and pollution, but also about delays, unreliable schedules, crowded facilities, congestion and inconvenience.

These issues present fundamental challenges that will not yield to incremental and steady progression and will need an aggressive, ambitious and more holistic approach. So, in 2000 Commissioner Philippe Busquin contributed significantly by inviting a Group of Personalities to set out an ambitious vision for the future of aeronautics over the medium to long-term. Their report "European Aeronautics - a Vision for 2020" was published in early 2001.

It recommended the formation of an Advisory Council to create a Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) that would enrol all those with a stake in the future of aeronautics to collaborate in exploring and advancing the technologies that will lead to the realisation of the goals of Vision 2020. The Advisory Council for Aeronautics Research in Europe (ACARE) was formed in mid 2001.

The two Top-Level Objectives for European aeronautics, identified in the Vision 2020 report, were:

To meet society's needs
To achieve global leadership for Europe