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Defence and Aerospace Firms in Clarivate’s Top Innovators 2025

Our Bureau - : Mar 12, 2025 - : 11:09 pm

Clarivate has released its 2025 Top 100 Global Innovators list, recognising organisations that are advancing technology research and innovation. Among them, several major defence and aerospace firms have been included, reflecting their ongoing contributions to technological development in the sector....

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Six companies from the defence and aerospace industry feature in this year’s rankings. RTX secured the highest position among them at 10th place, followed by Airbus at 32nd, GE Aerospace at 34th, Safran at 42nd, Boeing at 64th, and Thales at 89th. Their inclusion highlights the sector’s continued emphasis on innovation in engineering, manufacturing, and product development.

Clarivate reports that the Top 100 organisations allocate an average of 8.8% of their revenues to scientific and technological advancements, amounting to nearly $290 billion USD collectively. This investment supports developments in areas such as automation, connectivity, and mobility, which are key drivers of innovation in the defence and aerospace industry.

A key focus of this year’s analysis is technological convergence, where various fields intersect to drive new innovations. Clarivate identifies five macro-forces shaping this trend: sustainability, wellbeing, mobility, connectivity, and automation. Across the most influential patented ideas, nearly 40% involve cross-sector convergence, indicating that innovation increasingly stems from multidisciplinary approaches.

In terms of industry representation, electronics and computing equipment continue to dominate the rankings, followed by semiconductors, industrial systems, and automotive. While the defence and aerospace sector is not a separate category in the report, the inclusion of companies such as RTX, Airbus, and Boeing underscores its role in technological advancement.

This year’s list includes organisations from eleven countries and regions, with Japan leading at 33 companies, followed by the United States with 18. Other notable contributors include Taiwan (13), Germany (8), South Korea (8), and France (7). Several of the recognised aerospace and defence firms, including Airbus, Safran, and Thales, are based in Europe, reflecting the region’s continued focus on high-tech engineering and manufacturing.

The Top 100 Global Innovators rankings are compiled by the Clarivate Center for IP and Innovation Research, using a methodology based on patent influence, success rate, rarity, and investment levels. The selection process involves an assessment of global invention data over the past five years, identifying organisations that consistently produce high-impact innovations.

By recognising these six defence and aerospace companies, the 2025 report highlights the sector’s role in advancing technological development across multiple disciplines, supporting global security, aviation, and next-generation defence systems.

Clarivate / Top-innovators /

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