AIA's Marion Blakey to deliver Amy Johnson Lecture 2012 at RAeS HQ

AIA is regarded as the most authoritative voice of the American aerospace and defence industry, representing 150 leading manufacturers as well as a supplier base of 200 associate members.

Her lecture theme - ‘Changing course while losing altitude: Anglo-American aerospace and defence in an age of austerity’ - will highlight how the US and UK share the essential roles and responsibilities they hold as defenders of Western values, promulgators of commerce and exporters of security.

Yet,in a time of fiscal austerity, vital defence and aerospace capabilities could be diminished. The US potentially faces nearly $600 billion in congressionally mandated defence and space cuts, known as sequestration, harming defence modernisation, civil space and aeronautics programs and the industrial base.

Both the US and the United Kingdom face the challenge of underinvestment at home and the need to deal with rising powers such as China. We in the West must invest in new technologies and leverage unique advantages in areas such as unmanned aerial vehicles, space and cyber systems.

The Amy Johnson Lecture was established in 2011 by the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Women in Aviation and Aerospace Committee to honour a century of women in flight. Amy Johnson CBE was a pioneering English aviator who became the first woman to fly solo from Britain to Australia in 1930 and broke a string of aviation records between 1930 and 1936. Amy Johnson was a member of the Air Transport Auxiliary during the Second World War and in 1941 was the first member of the ATA to die in service.

The Lecture is traditionally held on or close to the 6 July to mark the date in 1929 when Amy Johnson received her pilot’s licence.

To reserve your place at the Amy Johnson Lecture or for further information contact the conference team conference@aerosociety.com