A total of 521 aircraft orders were placed in the first quarter – representing a 73% increase compared to Q1 2024 – as demand rises for both single-aisle and wide-body aircraft, according to ADS.
The trade association highlighted that aircraft deliveries were also up 20% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024.
The figures – which run until 31st March, two days before the US Administration’s announcement of tariff increases on US imports – show further that the industry’s backlog of aircraft orders has reached a new record high, standing at 15,954 aircraft at the end of March – 1% higher than Q1 2024.
This backlog is estimated to be worth up to £254 billion to the UK economy at current production rates, underscoring the long-term value of the aerospace sector and its extensive UK supply chain.
ADS Outlook
The recent tariffs introduced by the US Administration on 2nd April are still being evaluated by industry leaders, with disruption to trade and supply chains likely to affect aircraft deliveries in the coming months.
Broader international reactions to the evolving US trade policy may add further uncertainty, particularly for long-haul programmes and cross-border component flows. That is why ADS is calling on the UK Government to seek exemptions for civil aircraft, engine parts and components as part of our trade negotiations to ensure the free movement of aerospace goods in line with the longstanding WTO Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft.
Despite these challenges, increased momentum at the start of 2025 shows that with the right conditions, industry can deliver strong performance metrics and support UK competitiveness in the global aerospace market.
New aviation proposals would end charges for seating young children with accompanying adults, restrict fees for simple booking errors and strengthen airline cooperation on repeat disruptive passengers.
Former Boeing executive Richard Mills will lead the growth strategy of Cohort and its seven subsidiaries which specialise in defence and security technology across the UK, Germany, Portugal and Australia.
Seven teams have advanced in the UK Ministry of Defence’s £2 billion Light Mobility Vehicle (LMV) competition, to replace ageing Land Rover and Pinzgauer fleets.
SatVu launches HotSat-3 to double thermal satellite capacity
Standfirst
SatVu has launched HotSat-3 aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-18 rideshare mission, adding capacity for high-resolution thermal intelligence from space.
Publication-ready version
SatVu has launched HotSat-3, its latest mid-wave infrared sensing satellite, aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-18 rideshare mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
The British thermal intelligence company said HotSat-3 will double its constellation collection capacity once commissioning is complete. The satellite will operate alongside HotSat-2, enabling SatVu to collect high-resolution thermal imagery day and night, with the ability to revisit any location on Earth every 24 hours.
HotSat-3 is SatVu’s third 3.5m resolution mid-wave infrared satellite and forms part of the company’s move towards more persistent thermal intelligence from space.
SatVu expands thermal intelligence from space
The additional capacity will allow customers to observe the same strategic sites more frequently, building time series data that can show whether an asset is active, how intensely it is operating and how that activity is changing over time.
SatVu’s thermal imagery can detect heat signatures from assets and infrastructure including vehicle and vessel engines, generators, gas flares, petrochemical facilities, rail cars, data centres, maritime vessel wakes, power plant cooling effluent plumes and industrial heat sources.
The company said this capability is relevant across defence and intelligence, economic intelligence and climate resilience markets.
For defence and intelligence users, high-resolution thermal data can provide an independent layer of information for assessing activity at strategic sites and critical infrastructure, including at night or in locations where ground information may be limited or delayed.
HotSat-3 to support daily site monitoring
Anthony Baker, chief executive and co-founder of SatVu, said: “HotSat-3 is where the constellation optimises what we can deliver for customers.
“With two operational satellites, we will have double the capacity: customers can collect twice as much imagery, monitor twice as many sites, or return to the same site more often.”
He said repeated observation would allow users to move beyond single snapshots and understand how activity is changing.
“Return to a site, day and night, and you can read its operational state by what is hot and what is not, what is on and what is off,” Baker said.
“That is the operational heartbeat we are building SatVu to measure: status, intensity and change across the assets and infrastructure that matter to governments, markets and industry.”
HotSat-3 will now enter commissioning before the start of commercial operations. SatVu said launches are already secured for HotSat-4 and HotSat-5, supporting further increases in capacity and revisit frequency as the constellation grows.
Portugal's Omnidea has purchased the manufacturing assets and intellectual property (IP) of British rocket manufacturer Orbex UK, which ceased operations in February this year and went into administration.
Sedgefield headquartered Filtronic has won a $68.1 million (£51.52m) order from SpaceX to support its Starlink network, highlighting the growing global demand for UK-developed space technology.
Former Boeing executive Richard Mills will lead the growth strategy of Cohort and its seven subsidiaries which specialise in defence and security technology across the UK, Germany, Portugal and Australia.
