From the very first attempts at flight made by Clément Ader at the Satory parade ground in 1897 to the manufacture of onboard equipment for the Curiosity rover exploring Mars, the aerospace sector, with strong links to the defense and security industry, has a long-term presence in the region.
In Paris Region, more than 200,000 direct and indirect jobs in aerospace, defense and security make the region the top base for the French aerospace sector. Paris-Saclay is a driving force in this field. It brings together not only the research and development establishments of most major industrial players in the sector, including Safran, UTC Aerospace, Sagem, Airbus Group, Thales, Dassault Aviation and Nexter, but also specialist public research centers such as ONERA. It also houses unique large facilities such as the CEPR engine test center.
