• Globally, three out of four leaders in the aerospace and defense sector consider strategic collaborations as the primary driver of growth (vs. 82% in France), ahead of developing internal capabilities (71%) and acquisitions (35%).
  • For 52% of industry leaders, access to advanced technologies is the priority objective of these partnerships; the share allocated to semiconductor partners is expected to almost double in five years, rising from 22% to 45%.
  • Digital services, data, and software (80%), followed by AI, autonomous systems, and robotics (71%), dominate investment priorities. In France, 72% of executives rank AI and advanced analytics among the three most important technologies for achieving their strategic objectives within the next five years.
  • AI, software, semiconductors and connectivity are becoming strategic capabilities, while manufacturers must simultaneously accelerate their production rates.
  • Globally, the executives surveyed plan to increase their capacity by an average of 28% over the next five years. Southeast Asia stands out as the region offering the greatest potential.
  • Faced with the arrival of new competitors, 73% of space companies plan to diversify into complementary offerings.

According to the first edition of PwC’s Global Aerospace & Defence Sector Outlook 2026 , the aerospace and defense industry is entering a new phase of transformation. Faced simultaneously with the need for increased production rates and unprecedented technological acceleration, manufacturers are increasingly looking beyond their traditional borders for the capabilities necessary for their growth. AI, software, data, semiconductors, and connectivity are thus gradually reshaping the sector’s ecosystems.

Matthieu Lemasson, partner in charge of the Aerospace and Defense sector at PwC France and Maghreb, states: ” In aerospace and defense, the next battle will no longer be fought solely on mastering the sector’s historical technologies. Computing power, software, AI, connectivity, and semiconductors are becoming strategic capabilities. To access them quickly and on a large scale, manufacturers will have to further open up their ecosystems and forge new technological alliances.

Access to advanced technologies at the heart of strategic partnerships

Beyond its traditional boundaries, the sector is seeking new avenues for growth. Strategic collaborations are emerging as the primary lever, ahead of internal capacity development (71%) and acquisitions (35%).

When asked about their reasons for joining an ecosystem, executives cite access to advanced technologies first (52%). This is followed by accelerated innovation and time to market (48%), and the co-development of new products, services, or platforms (48%).

Meanwhile, the importance of semiconductor partners is expected to more than double in five years, reaching 45% compared to 22% today. The role of telecommunications operators is also projected to grow, reaching 25%, up from 15% currently. In France, 82% of executives plan to expand their strategic collaborations within their ecosystem.

Conversely, the influence of traditional partners is expected to decline: other aerospace and defense companies (-6 points), industrial companies (-10 points), and public bodies (-13 points). They will, however, remain among the most important partners.

Space companies are following the same dynamic: 73% of them plan to develop new offerings complementary to their core business and 71% to increase their participation in ecosystems.

Asia, a new engine of growth

The aerospace and defense market continues to expand. Surveyed executives plan to increase their production capacity by an average of 28% over the next five years. In France, 58% anticipate an increase of between 10% and 25% in their production or delivery capacity, while 38% foresee an increase of between 25% and 50%.

While traditional markets such as North America, Western Europe, and the Middle East are expected to retain their strategic importance, the strongest growth momentum is in Asia. Southeast Asia is projected to see its share increase from 15% to 47%, while South Asia is expected to grow from 14% to 35%. This trend is even more pronounced in France, where Southeast Asia is projected to increase from 4% to 48% and South Asia from 4% to 34%, while Western Europe is expected to decline from 98% to 66%.

In the aerospace market alone, Southeast Asia is expected to become the second most strategic region over the next five years, with the proportion of respondents citing it rising from 14% to 63%. Western Europe (from 86% to 49%) and the Middle East (from 53% to 44%) are projected to decline, but will nevertheless remain priority markets.

In this context of growth and geographical rebalancing, customer expectations are also evolving. Operational performance and delivery reliability are now the main decision criteria, each cited by 56% of respondents, far ahead of cost (11%). In France, reliability and on-time delivery are the top expectations, mentioned by 62% of respondents, ahead of operational availability (56%).

Investing in the aerospace and defense of tomorrow

Today, companies in the sector face a dual challenge: strengthening their industrial capacity to meet ever-increasing order books, while simultaneously repositioning their portfolios towards future sources of value. However, the way these two imperatives are balanced varies among the players.

Three main approaches are emerging:

  • Digital system builders , who represent 44% of the sample, focus their investments on software, data and the development of internal capabilities.
  • Industrial powers (39%) rely on the reliability of their physical systems and their participation in ecosystems to support their growth.
  • Lifecycle leaders (17%) are primarily seeking to extend the operational lifespan of platforms.

These strategic choices reflect different visions of the value sources that will shape the sector in the coming years. In France, digital system builders represent half of the respondents (50%), ahead of industrial giants (36%) and lifecycle leaders (14%).

Regardless of their strategy, companies will also need to ensure they have the necessary skills to fully leverage new technologies. Yet, only 20% of executives rank team skills and productivity among their top three strategic priorities for the next five years, while around half consider them a major obstacle to implementation.

Matthieu Lemasson , partner in charge of the Aerospace and Defense sector at PwC France and Maghreb, concludes: ” The aerospace and defense sector faces a dual challenge: rapidly strengthening its industrial base to absorb record order books, while positioning itself in future areas of value. Its success will depend less on internal capabilities alone than on its ability to integrate into ecosystems that prioritize operational agility and innovation, beyond historical industrial models. “