AirTN - FP6

Basic Information

Description

The air transport industry is large, important and complex. It makes a massive contribution to the prosperity of Europe, both in terms of a globally competitive manufacturing sector providing goods and services, and also in terms of promoting the effective transfer of people and goods within Europe and globally. Achieving the objectives in Aeronautics is critically dependent upon major aeronautical research and technological advances in the medium to long-term. The prosperous development of Aeronautics In Europe also depends upon key enablers such as improving the coherence and co-ordination of aeronautical research and innovation activities conducted at national and European levels. GARTEUR (a government-to-government agreement between France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom to strengthen co-operation in aeronautics) and the proposed ERA-Net in Aeronautics, the Air Transport Net (AirTN), are examples of those key enablers. The objectives of the proposed AirTN (Aeronautics ERA-Net) are twofold: (1) to step up the co?? operation and co-ordination of research activities in aeronautics carried out at national level through the networking of research activities at EU level; (2) to expand the European dimension with an aeronautical network in order to improve the coherence and co-ordination of aeronautics and in order to strengthen the underpinning of the European Aeronautics programme. These two objectives will be achieved by bringing together key actors (public bodies and other national bodies that finance aeronautical research activities) from a large number of European nations (sixteen Member States plus Romania and Switzerland) with a common strategic interest in Aeronautics. These key actors will form AirTN and will carry out the proposed AirTN work programme consisting of seven work packages. The AirTN activities will lay the foundation for expanding the scope of durable co-ooeration in #