IET Aerospace Technical Network

The IET Aerospace Technical Network brings together aerospace professionals across aviation, defence, manufacturing, autonomy and space to share, learn and advance engineering knowledge. We are a global network of volunteers: practising engineers, academics, researchers and students: connected through the Institution of Engineering and Technology.

Chair’s Welcome

Welcome to the IET Aerospace Technical Network.

Over the past few months the network has refreshed its leadership and refocused its work. Our priority is creating useful, accessible content: short video interviews, blogs, EngX posts and live events: that you can engage with on your own schedule, from wherever you are in the world.

We have also launched the Engineering Projects Initiative (EPI), a model for small groups of volunteers to take on focused technical projects together and produce concrete output: not just disseminate existing knowledge, but advance it. Our first project is investigating the impact of radiation on AI language models for aviation and space applications.

We are particularly keen to hear from members who want to contribute in flexible, low-overhead ways: from a one-off interview to leading a project: and from those entering the industry who are looking for a route in.

If you have an idea for content, a topic you would like us to cover, or simply want to join the conversation, please get in touch.

— Alex Brooker, Chair

Our Mission

• Inspire current and future generations of engineers across aviation, aerospace and space.
• Inform industry professionals on emerging technologies, certification challenges and regulatory developments.
• Advance engineering knowledge through collaborative projects: not just share it.
• Connect members across the global aerospace community, particularly across the UK, Europe and the wider international membership.

What We Do

Short-form content: video interviews, blogs, EngX posts

Short, accessible content produced by committee members and guest contributors. Topics include AI in aerospace manufacturing, sovereign manufacturing, electrification, autonomy, certification and safety. Anything tagged #aerospace on EngX appears in the daily and weekly digests of members who follow that tag.

Engineering Projects Initiative (EPI)

A new model for our technical network: small groups of volunteers running focused, time-boxed engineering projects on publicly available problems. The aim is to produce useful artifacts: architectural recommendations, trade-off tools, reports. Our first project, RadiAI, is investigating the effect of radiation on AI language models running on aircraft and in space, motivated by the December 2025 Airbus A320 bit-flip groundings.

Webinars and events

When a topic genuinely warrants a live, in-depth event we host webinars. Our next event is:

AI and Drones: Are we safe?  |  Tuesday 14 July 2026, 11:30 BST. Speakers include Ken Munro (Pen Test Partners) and Matt Banham (SAIF Autonomy), with additional speakers to be confirmed. Moderated by John Turton.

Find all of our upcoming events here

The Aerospace Partnership

The IET Aerospace Technical Network is part of the Aerospace Partnership with the IMechE Aerospace Division and the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS), delivering joint activity and events across the three institutions.

Topics We Are Working On

• AI in aviation and aerospace: autonomy, safety, certification, drones
• AI in aerospace manufacturing: early-design integration, predictive process control, preserving expert knowledge
• Electrification, hybrid and all-electric aircraft, and sustainable propulsion
• Sovereign manufacturing and supply-chain resilience
• Space exploration, propulsion and mission architecture (including the Artemis programme)
• Avionics, certification and safety-critical systems
• Model-Based System Engineering (MBSE)
• Supporting young engineers entering the industry: careers, skills and access to opportunities

Our Committee

The committee is a global group of volunteers who give their time to lead the network. Members are practising engineers and academics across industry, defence, academia and consultancy.

Alex Brooker: Chair. Founder, Airside Labs.

Alex started his career at BAE Systems following an astrophysics degree, working for ten years on sonar, submarines, surface ships and Joint Strike Fighter integration for the Queen Elizabeth-class carriers. He then spent a decade building a software and data business serving aviation: flight times, route planning and operational data for air navigation service providers. He now runs Airside Labs, focused on applied AI in aviation and aerospace. Alex took up the role of Chair in 2026.

Patrick Capaldo: Vice Chair. AI Engineer, Airbus.

Patrick is an AI Engineer at Airbus with a professional background spanning the defence and space industries in Australia and the UK. He founded the IET presence at the University of Adelaide and has been an active IET volunteer for around six years. He sits on both the Aerospace and AI Technical Networks and is currently writing an IET book on AI and critical infrastructure. Patrick leads the network’s Engineering Projects Initiative.

Simon Brown CEng FIET, Senior Manager Architecture, SITA; outgoing Chair of the IET Aerospace TN.

Simon's career in aviation spans more than 25 years. He started at NATS (UK Air Traffic Control) in 1999 in systems engineering and product development, then moved to Heathrow Airport as Head of IT Architecture for Operations: work for which he was Highly Commended in the IET Innovation Awards (Transport category) for pre-departure sequencing. During the pandemic he led a thirteen-partner consortium in the UK's Future Flight Challenge, researching distributed ledger technology for aviation data exchange in the emerging urban air mobility and drone delivery sector. He spent four years at easyJet as Enterprise Architect for Airline Operations before joining SITA as Senior Manager Architecture in April 2026, where he is architecting SITA's Total Airport Management offer for airline and airport customers globally. Simon has been an IET volunteer for over a decade leading consultation responses, presenting and assembling webinar panels and was Chair of the IET Aerospace Technical Network from December 2023 until handing over to Alex in 2026.

John Turton BTech CEng MIMechE MIET ARAeS: Joint IMechE / IET member; former R&D Programme Director, MoD.

John’s career was at the Ministry of Defence as an R&D Programme Director, running helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft programmes. He is a joint member of the IMechE Aerospace Board and the IET Aerospace TN, and an editor on the IET design handbook for hybrid and all-electric aircraft. He leads the network’s upcoming AI and Drones webinar.

Shahaz-Ali Bharwani: Based in London.

Shahaz’s interests are in aerospace manufacturing, particularly sovereign manufacturing and the areas where UK government and industry investment is shaping the next generation of capability. Shahaz drives the network’s content on AI in aerospace manufacturing.

Konstantinos Stamoulis: Professor of Aviation Engineering, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences.

Konstantinos is Professor of Aviation Engineering at the Faculty of Technology, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. Trained as an aeronautical engineer (MSc NTUA Greece; MSc MIT) with a PhD on fatigue of micromechanical systems, he served as a senior officer in the Hellenic Air Force, including as Director of Engineering and Industrial Design at the Air Force Aircraft Depot. His research focuses on novel maintenance technologies, advanced materials engineering, and data analytics in aviation MRO.

Arkadiusz Wieclewski: Future Programs and R&T, Rolls-Royce.

Arek is an electrical and systems engineer at Rolls-Royce, recently moved from Electrical Systems to Future Programs and R&T. He has been involved with the Aerospace TN for four years, originally joining through the Young Professionals route, and his interests focus on the electrification of engines and aircraft. Arek was elected to the IET Council in 2026 for a three-year term beginning October.

Frederick Eastham: BAE Systems: Instrumentation and Control / Telemetry.

Fred has spent 36 years at BAE Systems: nine on Tornado major systems and the last 25 in instrumentation and control, specialising in telemetry systems. He was the first person, to his knowledge, to introduce high-speed digital video onto operational aircraft.

Gerald Giddins: Technical Director, WSP; member of the IET Aerospace Technical Advisory Panel.

Gerald began his career in avionics in the early 1970s and ran an aerospace consultancy through the 1980s and 1990s, working across nearly every UK military aircraft type. He has been at WSP for the last decade and is a long-standing mentor across the organisation. He is a member of the IET Aerospace Technical Advisory Panel.

Jonathan Watson: Former Vice Chair; Rolls-Royce (retired).

Jonathan spent his full career at Rolls-Royce, with his final years in R&D and manufacturing technology. He has served on the IET Aerospace committee since around 2014 and was previously Vice Chair under Simon Brown.

We are currently recruiting one or two additional committee members. If you are an IET member working in aerospace and would like to contribute, please get in touch with Tori (details below).

How To Get Involved

• Follow the #aerospace hashtag on EngX to see our content in your daily and weekly digests.
• Join the IET Aerospace LinkedIn group
• Pitch a blog or video interview: we are particularly looking for short pieces from engineers at any career stage.
• Express interest in joining the committee or contributing to the Engineering Projects Initiative: get in touch via Tori.

Contact

Victoria Rooke (Tori): IET Communities Manager: victoriarooke@theiet.org