The future of transportation systems

The emergence of a world-wide duopoly in the design and production of large commercial aircraft at the end of the 1990s and cutbacks in aerospace and defense has put significant pressure on the number of avionics manufacturers. A similar duopoly exists very nearly for US military aircraft. In 1999, mergers created two large avionic suppliers in the USA. European avionics suppliers have also been consolidating. At worst, these larger entities will have a negative effect upon US aerospace employment, and further discourage the best and brightest engineers. Commuter and general aviation, where competition still reigns (more than ten manufacturers exist in 2000), may lead the avionics charge into the future.