Innovation is
non-negotiable
Augmented A&D engineering
How digital continuity and AI-enabled engineering can help aerospace and defense organizations scale transformation.
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Innovation is non-negotiable
We asked 400 senior execs at 200 A&D organizations for their views on key engineering trends in the industry.
This document is a short introduction to the full report based on that survey.
“The organizations leading the next era of engineering are not simply digitizing existing processes—they are redesigning how engineering work is orchestrated. Digital continuity provides the foundation, AI accelerates decision-making, and human expertise remains the critical differentiator.
Together, these capabilities create an engineering system that learns, adapts, and scales far beyond traditional productivity gains.”
Frédéric Combes
EVP Global Aerospace & Defense Leader, Capgemini
The full survey >
A&D engineering is entering a new competitive era. Geopolitical uncertainty, supply-chain fragility, cybersecurity risks, talent shortages, and increasingly software-defined products are placing unprecedented pressure on engineering organizations.
Source: Capgemini Research Institute, Augmented engineering survey, April-May 2026, N = 200 digital continuity experts.
Innovation is non-negotiable | Augmented A&D engineering
of organizations are concerned about losing future program positions, workshare, or access to top engineering talent if they fail to adapt quickly.
Organizations increasingly recognize that engineering transformation depends on two mutually reinforcing capabilities:
The convergence of these capabilities is also reshaping engineering work. Engineers are spending less time on routine activities and more time defining intent, validating AI-generated outputs, managing trade-offs, and exercising accountable decision-making.
Digital continuity is emerging as a foundational capability connecting data, processes, and stakeholders across the lifecycle to support speed, coordination, and compliance.
As new AI models have been built and become much more capable and widely available, it is evolving beyond its initial role as a productivity tool to become a broader engine of engineering transformation.
As AI-enabled engineering and digital continuity scale, the role of engineers is expected to shift from executing tasks to orchestrating, validating, and governing AI-driven work.
Rather than simply translating productivity gains into cost reduction, organizations are increasingly using AI to expand engineering value.
At the same time,
The digital continuity bottleneck
The pace of enterprise-scale transformation
Measuring maturity across the industry
Recommendations for operationalizing augmented engineering
The full report >
