About NATS
The National Aerospace Technology Strategy sets out how UK aerospace research and technology investment is prioritised and coordinated.
What the strategy is for
The National Aerospace Technology Strategy, known as NATS, is a shared framework for deciding where aerospace technology effort should go over the coming years. It gives government, industry and research organisations a common view of the technologies that matter most.
NATS does not replace individual company plans. It works alongside them, showing where collective investment is likely to produce the greatest benefit for the sector as a whole.
How the strategy is organised
NATS is built around a small number of technology areas. Each area is reviewed on a regular cycle so that priorities keep pace with changes in demand, engineering practice and international competition.
Evidence from industry, academia and public funders is gathered for each area. The results are then brought together into a single set of priorities that can be used by anyone planning research or investment.
- Technology areas reviewed on a fixed cycle
- Evidence drawn from industry and research bodies
- One shared set of published priorities
Where it applies
The strategy covers the research and development that sits between early science and full product programmes. This is the stage where shared facilities, common standards and joint funding often make the biggest difference.
Work outside this range is not excluded, but NATS focuses its attention on the middle of the technology chain.
Priority areas
Each priority area is described in its own entry below. Select a heading to read how the area is defined and why it matters.
Work on lighter, stronger and more durable materials, and on the methods used to design and test structures that use them.
Research into engine efficiency and alternative energy sources, with attention to how new propulsion concepts can be tested and certified.
Tools for modelling, simulation and integration that help teams design complex aircraft systems with fewer late changes.
Production methods that can be scaled, and the skills needed to run them, including the training pathways that support new techniques.
Shared test and research work
Many of the technologies covered by NATS depend on test facilities that no single organisation could justify alone. The strategy encourages shared access to these facilities.
How the strategy develops