Finals are wrapped up, but I’m still waiting on decent weather to conclude my flight course. Hopefully I’ll be out of here soon – in the meantime, I promised to write something, and here it is.

The aerospace industry is, unfortunately, permanently linked to the military-industrial complex. Airbus is owned by EADS, the European defense consortium, and BAE Systems, the British conglomerate (although they are looking to sell their 20% share). Boeing is likewise funded in part by their Integrated Defense Systems branch. Aviation was revolutionized by two world wars and a cold war, with new technology trickling down from militaries around the world into the civilian market. More on that later.

At what point does the money being spent not mesh with the issues facing those paying? American taxpayers have dumped $70 billion into the F-22 Raptor program, a stealth fighter designed for air superiority – though for three years it was marketed as the ‘F/A-22’, suggesting a multi-role ground attack ability that it only had in extreme theory. If you have been following our recent wars, you might realize that we’re not exactly facing sophisticated air forces, let alone air forces that can harm our existing inventory. Why, then, are we spending so much money on what appears to be a massive boondoggle? Even congress seems to be asking that question, cutting the original 750-aircraft order to a mere 183. Of course, the money is already spent; right idea, wrong timing.

Similar stories play out, within the US and abroad. Armored Hummvees, anybody? The Eurofighter Typhoon? Body armor? Either something is required and unavailable, or it’s unnecessary and sucking down cash.

More importantly, how will new military technology find civilian applications? Following World War II, the engines developed to power fighters and bombers found use in a new generation of airliners, like the Lockheed Constellation and the Douglas DC-6. In the B-29’s case, the aircraft itself was adapted into the (bloated-looking) Boeing 377 airliner. The jet engine first was used to power fighters, but quickly became the powerplant of choice for airliners. Airliners don’t need stealth, though, and they don’t really need thrust vectoring. Why isn’t more research being done by the military into alternative energy sources, like the Russian Ilyushin firm’s hybrid airliners, or into quieter or more fuel-efficient designs?

As I previously linked, Boeing’s ‘green team’ is working on a batch of such designs. Fueled by the success of the (relatively) more efficient 787, Boeing seems to have lit a fire under their engineers for even more radical solutions to the next-generation 737/A320 replacement. Rather than waiting for the military to create or fund new technologies, they’re taking a solid step in the right direction on their own. If only all manufacturers had the same initiative.