There is scarcely another sector in which the dynamism of research and development is greater than in the field of aerospace technology. This means that the growth potential for the future is considerable. Both aerospace technology and satellite navigation are among the most important innovative driving forces behind the economy of the Munich Metropolitan Region. The main focuses are the construction of military aircraft, flight propulsion systems, helicopters and components for spacecraft and satellites. And components for Airbus? civil aircraft are also being manufactured in the region.

The European Union?s Galileo Project is the industry?s third largest European project alongside Airbus on the market for aircraft and Ariane in the aerospace sector. The Munich Metropolitan Region is among the locations chosen for this. It is estimated that Galileo will create more than 100,000 new jobs in Europe, a large number of them within this region. Also, many other companies are benefiting from Galileo, both as suppliers of components and software and thanks to the application-related development of new products and services.

The research infrastructure in the field of aerospace is considered to be excellent within the Munich Metropolitan Region. So it is that the German Aerospace Centre, the European Southern Observatory and the Max Planck Institute for Extra-Terrestrial Physics are all located in this region. The institutes of higher education offer the experts of tomorrow an excellent programme of study and thus ensure a constant influx of highly-specialised experts.

Munich Airport links the Munich Metropolitan Region with Germany and the whole world. With a total of 34.5 million passengers, Munich occupies 7th position in Europe as far as the comparison figures for the year 2008 are concerned. The airport is one of the most important motors for growth in the region. Between 2003 and 2006 it proved possible to create on average four new jobs per day. Augsburg?s airport additionally offers a number of rapid city connections for business travellers.