In June 2025 at the Paris Air Show, the Aviation Research and Innovation Strategy (ARIS) was jointly presented as a coordinated effort by industry, research institutions, and academia, supported by the Clean Aviation JU (CAJU) and SESAR Joint Undertaking (SJU). This presentation was strategically timed to influence the industry’s requests for the upcoming European multi-annual budget (MFF) and advance aviation’s sectoral claims.
Global Airspace Radar provides you with a summary and strategic assessment of ARIS, noting that the MFF was presented on 16 July and policy work will restart in September.
Setting the scene: 70% of global airspace managed by European ATM technologies
Europe currently commands a significant market share in global aviation, with 58% of new civil aircraft sales, 47% of the order book, and 70% of global airspace managed by European air traffic management technologies. The sector supports 15 million jobs and contributes €1.1 trillion to the European economy. However, industry leaders warn this dominance faces mounting challenges from global competition and technological pressures.
The ARIS strategy, presented to European Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas, calls for a €66 billion investment programme. It seeks €22.5 billion from EU sources, with the remainder from member states and private investment.
Key strategic elements
The strategy proposes “building the world’s most competitive, safe and sustainable aviation ecosystem, supporting Europe’s security and sovereignty,” with ambitious targets including 30% greenhouse gas reductions for SAF-based aircraft and up to 100% for electric or hydrogen-based aircraft by 2035.
ARIS organises investment across seven technological pillars:
- developing net zero aircraft technologies
- aircraft demonstrators
- future aircraft design
- Digital European Sky implementation
- manufacturing capabilities
- digital transformation
- workforce development.
The framework emphasises covering the complete innovation pipeline from Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 0 to 3 through to market deployment beyond TRL 6. It addresses the “valley of death” between technological development and commercial application—an area where Europe often falls behind other competing regions such as the US and China.
Many of the elements are linked to the European Master Plan 2025, released in February by the SESAR JU. It also relates to the years-long Digital European Sky ambition of the European Union, targeting technological and industry leadership while achieving Europe’s climate and competitiveness goals.
Industry leadership stands jointly
The highest ranks of European aviation stood together to present ARIS. The list of 99 contributors is impressive, including all major actors, industry, associations, EUROCONTROL and the European Defence Agency. This demonstrates the urgency of the initiative for the sector.
Sabine Klauke, Chief Technology Officer at Airbus, stated in Paris: “The proposed investment in R&I outlined in the ARIS strategy is crucial for developing the next generation of aircraft technologies. This will not only enhance our competitiveness but also contribute significantly to reducing our environmental footprint.”
Arndt Schoenemann, Chairman and CEO of German Air Navigation Services Provider DFS (Deutsche Flugsicherung), emphasised operational urgency: “ARIS highlights the urgent need to accelerate the deployment of innovative air traffic management solutions. By shortening the time from development to operational use, we can improve efficiency, safety, and sustainability.”
Ambition versus execution
ARIS summarises the existential challenges facing European aviation and air traffic management leadership. Critical gaps emerge between strategic ambition and implementation reality, including:
Funding mechanism ambiguity: While the €22.5 billion EU contribution represents one-third of total requirements, the strategy relies on securing funding within MFF constraints and incentivising private sector contributions at the required scale.
Competitive asymmetry: European aviation’s civil strength may become a weakness if non-EU competitor nations leverage dual-use military investments more effectively, highlighting structural differences in how competing nations organise aviation R&D.
Civil-military challenges: The geopolitical situation has intensified focus on dual-use technologies and civil-military synergies. The ARIS document calls for fostering “dual use potential where appropriate and relevant, supported by amendments to the existing regulatory framework.” The strategy acknowledges a critical challenge: “scale matters: being strong in civil aviation R&I or defence R&I requires that efforts in research and innovation are strong in both areas.” The risk lies in financial resources and industry efforts being absorbed and prioritised on the military side, potentially underestimating the complexity of dual-use applications and the urgent modernisation needs of the civil sector.
The global game and European sovereignty needs: The document warns that European aviation must leverage civil-military synergies to remain competitive with nations like the US and China, as “dual-use investments – where military technologies in aviation and air traffic management influence civil technology – further obscure the true scale of public funding.”
Multi-level governance complexity: Success requires coordination between EU institutions, 27 member states, and private sector entities across national priorities and industrial capabilities. While frameworks like the SJU and SESAR Deployment Manager (SDM) exist, a sunset date for the current governance is set and the need for continuous improvement and efficiency in these models remains, relying on partners’ willingness for true collaboration.
Scale and timing challenges: The €66 billion requirement over seven years represents an unprecedented funding commitment, with one-third requiring EU-level coordination. ARIS acknowledges competition from US and Chinese state-backed programmes but provides limited detail on matching competitor investment speed and scale.
Certification bottlenecks: ARIS calls for regulatory framework amendments and early EASA cooperation, but the devil lies in the details of accelerating regulatory processes to match deployment timelines.
What’s next: defining the future of SESAR and Clean Aviation
Most of the topics addressed in ARIS are currently managed in Europe via DG MOVE‘s SESAR programme—with the SJU and the SDM—and the Clean Aviation JU as part of Directorate RTD.
Creating competitive funding instruments matching the speed and scale of competitors’ investments while maintaining European transparency standards requires future public-private partnership models going beyond traditional procurement approaches.
Defining the future of SESAR and the related Joint Undertakings (JUs) is one of the major initiatives for this term of the Commission and the DG MOVE team. Stakeholders stand ready. The final outcome will be influenced by the unavoidable political power play between different institutional players, the implementation of lessons learned from 20 years of SESAR, and the various stakeholders’ interests.
The stakes for the future are high and I think that everybody is aware of the criticality and importance of this matter.
ARIS must be more than another piece of paper
ARIS identifies European aviation’s challenges and opportunities. Its success will depend on European institutions matching strategic ambition with implementation urgency, while deciding on future institutional settings. If no decisive action is taken in the next 24 months, ARIS risks becoming one more well-intentioned strategy document but not the transformative action plan European aviation needs.
The urgency is evident when viewed in the broader context of European fiscal planning. As I explored in Europe’s €2 Trillion Gamble analysis, current Multiannual Financial Framework negotiations represent a defining moment for European industrial policy. Aviation’s €22.5 billion request competes within this larger strategic framework, making immediate action essential for European competitiveness.
With only 36 pages, the ARIS document is short, very short compared to most European papers. I recommend you dive into these 36 pages for your essential summer reading.
Enjoy the information, then act after your holidays.
