Tech firms muscling in on aerospace action

[CAEN, France] The aerospace industry must embrace competition from technology companies such as Google and SpaceX which are already having a revolutionary impact on the sector, the head of the Airbus Group told AFP in an interview.

Describing the scale and speed of innovation in Silicon Valley as both "frightening and fascinating", Tom Enders said that the increasing digitalisation of the economy was having a profound impact on his company's business.

"I think that in the future, our industry will have to work much more closely with these new high-tech companies . . . if only because these guys are increasingly intruding on our territory," said Mr Enders, 55, who is half-way through a four-year mandate as CEO of the European aerospace giant.