Aerospace industry conveyor systems

In 2022, aerospace and defense (A&D) industry exports rose by 4.4 percent to a total value of $104.8 billion. The U.S. aerospace sector continues to produce the highest trade balance ($77.6 billion in 2019) and the second-highest level of exports ($148 billion) among all U.S. manufacturing sectors.

Aerospace systems have a very high value per unit weight and are among the most complex, as measured by the number of components in finished products.

Aviation produces 2% of all human-induced CO2 and emits less than the iron and steel industry (5%), cement production (4%), the shipping sector (3%), and around the same as the servers and data centers industry.

Across the four subsectors of the A&D industry, aeronautics directly employs almost 603,000 workers in the United States.

The aerospace industry creates high-value jobs, drives exports, and contributes significantly to the GDP of many countries.

Aerospace drives innovation in areas such as materials science, propulsion systems, avionics, and robotics. Technologies developed for aerospace often find applications in other sectors, such as automotive, defense, and telecommunications.

The aerospace industry is responsible for approximately 1.47 percent of the nation's total economic output.

The industry provides military aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), missiles, and other defense systems that are essential for a country’s security and defense capabilities.

Aerospace is pivotal in space exploration endeavors and the deployment of satellites.

Aircraft and satellites are instrumental in monitoring and studying environmental changes. Airbus, for example, transforms geospatial data from Earth observation satellites into actionable insights to help fight climate change.

The industry is essential for emergency response and humanitarian aid.