News

The global aerospace industry is diverse, but we have been sharing the same journey since early this year. The pandemic has hit the industry hard. The rise of infection rates from Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) across the world and government responses to reducing the impact on their populations have profoundly impacted us in so many aspects of our personal and professional lives.

COVID-19 has also brought the resilience, flexibility and engineering skills and capabilities of the aerospace industry into sharp relief as the UK Government calls on British manufacturers to transform their production lines to make ventilators.

One noteworthy response to this call to arms is the Ventilator Challenge UK. The initiative includes Airbus, Rolls-Royce, GKN, BAE Systems and Meggitt and has won regulatory approval after undergoing stringent testing and clinical trials for its new Penlon ventilator design.

The industrial consortium has now produced its first batch of ventilators and has a production target of a minimum of 1,500 units per week. To learn more, follow Ventilator Challenge UK on Twitter.