£60million aerodynamics centre to open in UK

Chancellor George Osborne made the announcement yesterday as part of his Budget statement. The centre, he said, will pull together existing testing and modeling facilities into a coherent virtual centre, which will be responsible for coordinating and supporting world leading R&D. The initiative is the first output from the Aerospace Growth Partnership (AGP) work, which identified recently how such a centre could increase UK competitiveness. The AGP is jointly chaired by Mark Prisk, Minister of State for Business and Enterprise, and Marcus Bryson, chair of ADS's Civil Air Transport Board and ceo of GKN Aerospace. "I am absolutely delighted to see the Chancellor's recognition of the aerospace industry's contribution to the nation's economy and the announcement of £60m for the creation of a UK Centre for Aerodynamics," said Bryson. "World class aerodynamics capability is key to the industry's pole position in the European Aerospace Industry and this investment will keep the UK at the forefront of this technology. It will also provide companies with the confidence to further invest in UK aerospace." According to Bryson, the £60m investment will be spread over two years and will be used to fund research into 'radical' new concepts in wing design and more environmentally friendly aircraft.