A&D’s nervous system is being reset for the once-in-a-generation demand surge.

You need supply chain resilience to execute on the record order backlogs in the aerospace and defense industry. Bottlenecks abound, from fasteners to magnets and monuments, the flipside of buoyant demand has never been stronger.

Tariffs and defense reforms add an extra dimension to the complex dynamic while AI-enabled tools offer opportunities to solve the challenges and opportunities created by new materials, military doctrines, and geopolitical threats.

Design studios, factory floors, and the aftermarket have become strategic battlegrounds to support production ramp-ups across the commercial and defense sectors.

AlixPartners’ 2026 Aerospace & Defense Outlook series addresses the challenges facing the industry value chain:

Program execution is central to expanding the footprint of the industrial base and requires stable funding and a reevaluation of contract structures and incentives.
Delivery delays are reshaping the profitability of the commercial industry while defense grapples with the interplay of higher budgets and geopolitical uncertainty.
The A&D sector faces competition for resources from industrial end users embracing the boom in power and data centers
Engine makers, aircraft lessors, maintenance shops, and small suppliers remain the gatekeepers of capacity.
Production, agility, and quality have never been so important.

AlixPartners is supporting the transformation. Operating models are being reset to leverage AI-enabled tools from design through production and sustainment. More resilient supply chains and technology, including software-enabled weapons and satellite manufacturing as well as new sustainment models.

$2 trillion

Commercial and military order backlogs continue to climb from record levels at the end of 2025

$270 billion

The forecast annual space economy in 2030

400 jets

Projected commercial widebody aircraft gap in 2030