Sopra Steria Next unveils a trend report providing an in-depth analysis of the key dynamics profoundly reshaping the aerospace industry
- Alongside the Paris Air Show (Salon du Bourget), Sopra Steria Next publishes a report outlining key trends in the aerospace and space sectors
- These trends revolve around three major dynamics: efficiency, sustainability, and sovereignty
- This publication strengthens Sopra Steria’s position as a key partner in the aerospace industry
Paris, 16 June 2025 – Sopra Steria Next, the consultancy division of the Sopra Steria Group, unveils a trend report dedicated to the aerospace sector: Next Perspectives Aerospace. This publication provides an in-depth analysis of the key dynamics profoundly reshaping the aerospace industry, highlighting 10 major trends.
Against a backdrop of industrial ramp-up, supply chain pressures, accelerated ecological transition, and increasing demands for technological sovereignty, aerospace players must innovate rapidly, decisively, and collaboratively. Sopra Steria Next has identified ten key trends in the sector, structured around three main strategic dynamics:
- Efficiency in processes and operations, the primary driver of transformation, directly determines the sector’s investment capacity and financial flexibility. The goal is to strengthen critical functions such as engineering, production, supply chain, and customer services by fostering agility, collaboration, and simplification. Sopra Steria Next experts also note that this performance imperative requires a rethinking of skills management, as over one-third of the workforce in major companies is expected to be renewed by 2027. In an environment marked by automation, digitalisation, and cybersecurity challenges, empowering teams becomes a strategic priority.
- Decarbonisation and circularity represent the second pillar. With the global fleet expected to double by 2043, the sector must address environmental challenges across the entire aircraft lifecycle: eco-design, alternative propulsion systems, structural lightening, intelligent energy management, and optimised flight operations. Innovation must be both systemic and simultaneous, combining breakthrough technologies with incremental improvements to achieve low-carbon aviation.
- The development of integrated and sovereign ecosystems completes this strategic roadmap. According to Sopra Steria Next, the sector’s future competitiveness depends on its ability to collaborate deeply through secure, open, and interoperable data platforms. Embedded AI, data spaces, digital twins, and collaborative environments are reshaping value chains from design to maintenance. Technological and industrial sovereignty thus becomes a condition for Europe’s resilience and strategic autonomy.
Throughout these transformations, technology serves as a key enabler. Smart automation, generative AI, and cloud environments are already delivering significant efficiency gains—up to 80% in certain logistics functions, according to Sopra Steria Next. However, these tools only deliver real value when integrated into a holistic, human-centred vision focused on sustainable performance.
“We are at a pivotal moment. In aerospace, emerging technologies are no longer enough—we need a true paradigm shift. Our analysis shows that the most successful players will be those who combine industrial excellence, digital innovation, and strategic sovereignty. With this report, we offer a 360-degree vision that connects short-term performance needs with the profound transformations reshaping the ecosystem,” says Thierry Dronne, Director of Aerospace Consulting Europe, Sopra Steria Next. Sopra Steria is currently a key partner in the aerospace sector, working alongside aircraft manufacturers, equipment suppliers, regulatory authorities, and ministries on critical digital transformation, industrial AI, cybersecurity, and advanced simulation projects.
[Click here to download the full report.]