Today is not enough

The health, social and economic crisis we are going through compels us to navigate by sight. The certainties we had six months ago have faded as our industry has become more fragile. We had no idea that aeronautics could be damaged so suddenly. The challenges of today are added to those of tomorrow, and we enter into a balancing act to find solutions that allow our companies to survive in the short and long term: maintaining our production force, which keeps us alive; preserving the added value of our research, which makes us grow.

Safran Aero Boosters, technological flagship of the Walloon region, is constantly investing in Research, Technology and Development. The challenge today is to maintain Research at a high level, despite the Covid crisis. Europe's ambitions, and ours, require the development of breakthrough technologies over the next five years in order to achieve a low-carbon aircraft, in service by 2035. This is a technological leap that is unprecedented in the history of aeronautics. A daunting challenge that, alone, we cannot meet. Slowing down today, losing our R&T advantage, means losing our added value and our position as world leader tomorrow. Fortunately, we can count on the Walloon government, aware of this reality, eager to preserve our know-how and invested in the combat against climate change, which has chosen to invest €41 million in research and innovation for the aeronautics sector.

I believe that, in the wake of this multifaceted crisis, we will be proud to have made choices in favour of the sustainable and inclusive development of our companies. It is by continually reinventing itself that humanity progresses. Today, we are at a turning point, more decisive than ever. Combining job retention, sustainability and new technologies seems to me to be a winning trio for the future.

François Lepot,

President and Chief Executive Officer