Market evolution: Aircraft launch and arrestor gear (CN 8805) — 2015–2025

Introduction

This report examines the evolution of EU trade in products classified under customs code 8805, which covers aircraft launching gear, deck-arrestor equipment, ground flying trainers, and their parts. Over the 2015–2025 period, the EU experienced a profound structural transformation in this market: what was once a sector characterised by a comfortable trade surplus has shifted toward growing import dependence. Total imports surged from approximately €75 million in 2015 to nearly €498 million in 2025, while exports declined from €281 million to €220 million over the same period. This report identifies three main dynamics underlying this shift and explores their implications for the EU's position in global aerospace defence and training equipment markets.

Further details on the product scope and definitions can be found on the overview dashboard.

1. A Structural Reversal in the EU's Trade Balance

The EU transitioned from net exporter to net importer

The most striking feature of the 2015–2025 period is the dramatic reversal of the EU's trade balance for CN 8805. In 2015, the EU enjoyed a trade surplus of approximately €207 million. By 2025, this had turned into a deficit of roughly €278 million — a swing of nearly €485 million over the decade.

Source: General Overview

Import volumes and prices both contributed to the surge

The import growth was driven by both rising volumes and rising prices. Import quantity increased by 184.2%, from 459 tonnes to 1,303 tonnes, while the average import unit price rose by 134.8%, from €162,750/t to €382,204/t. This suggests that the EU is not only importing more equipment by weight, but also shifting toward higher-value or more specialised products.

Export prices declined despite relatively stable volumes

On the export side, the picture is more nuanced. Export volumes remained roughly stable, declining only marginally from 1,264 tonnes to 1,227 tonnes (-2.9%). However, the average export unit price fell by 19.6%, from €222,642/t to €179,021/t. This suggests that EU exporters may be facing pricing pressure or shifting their product mix toward lower-value segments, which contributed to the decline in export revenues despite steady volumes.

Source: General Overview

2. Ground Flying Trainers Drove the Import Boom

880529 became the dominant import category

The product segment breakdown reveals that the surge in EU imports was overwhelmingly concentrated in subcategory 880529 — "Ground flying trainers and parts thereof, n.e.s. (excl. air combat simulators and parts thereof)." Imports of this subcategory grew from approximately €56 million in 2015 to €428 million in 2025, accounting for over 85% of total CN 8805 imports by the end of the period.

Source: Product Segment Breakdown

Ground flying trainer import prices nearly doubled

The import unit price for ground flying trainers (880529) rose from €234,725/t in 2015 to €485,029/t in 2025 — a 106.5% increase. This indicates that the EU is increasingly sourcing high-value simulation and training equipment from outside the bloc, consistent with growing investment in advanced pilot training systems globally.

Air combat simulators saw erratic but eventually surging imports

Air combat simulators (880521) exhibited highly volatile import patterns, with quantities swinging between 2.2 tonnes (2017) and 155.8 tonnes (2023). By 2025, import values had reached €47 million — up from just €5.4 million in 2015. The high unit price of this subcategory (€414,183/t in 2025) reflects the sophistication and cost of these systems.

Export segments showed divergent trajectories

On the export side, ground flying trainers (880529) remained the dominant category, with values relatively stable around €188 million in 2025. However, exports of air combat simulators (880521) collapsed from €64 million in 2015 to just €2.7 million in 2025 — a 95.8% decline. Meanwhile, launching and arrestor gear (880510) exports recovered somewhat to €29 million by 2025.

The near-disappearance of EU air combat simulator exports, combined with the surge in ground flying trainer imports, points to a broader shift: the EU appears to be transitioning from a net producer to a net consumer of advanced flight simulation and training technologies.

3. Geographical Reorientation of Trade Flows

Canada became the EU's largest single import source by a wide margin

The most dramatic geographical shift occurred on the import side, where Canada emerged as the EU's dominant supplier. Imports from Canada grew from €20 million in 2015 to €258 million in 2025 — a 1,198% increase — making Canada by far the largest single source of CN 8805 imports, accounting for roughly half of the total.

Source: Top Partners

Switzerland also saw extraordinary growth (+3,716%), rising from a marginal supplier to a €79 million source — likely reflecting the country's role as a hub for simulation technology manufacturers. The United States remained a significant but more moderately growing supplier (+112%).

EU exports to China collapsed while other Asian markets gained

The export geography shifted markedly. The EU's most notable loss was the Chinese market: exports to China fell from €30 million in 2015 to under €1 million in 2025 (-96.8%). This likely reflects China's increasing self-sufficiency in defence-related aerospace equipment and geopolitical tensions affecting bilateral trade.

Source: Top Partners

By contrast, India (+251%) and the United Arab Emirates (+406%) emerged as growing export destinations, suggesting that the EU is redirecting its aerospace training equipment exports toward Middle Eastern and South Asian defence markets. The UK and US remained the two largest export partners, with relatively stable relationships.

Within the EU, Spain and France solidified their export leadership while import flows concentrated in the Netherlands

Among EU Member States, Spain displayed the highest revealed comparative advantage (RCA) in CN 8805 exports at 10.62, followed by Estonia (4.08) and Austria (1.64). Spain's specialisation score (RSCA of 0.83) confirms a strong competitive position in this niche.

On the import side, the Netherlands emerged as the single largest EU importer, with values surging from €12 million in 2015 to €139 million in 2025 — a 1,037% increase. This likely reflects the Netherlands' role as a major logistics hub. Austria showed the most explosive growth among importers, from €0.5 million to €55 million.

Source: Top Reporters

Conclusion

The EU market for aircraft launch, arrestor gear, and ground flying trainers (CN 8805) underwent a fundamental structural transformation between 2015 and 2025. The sector shifted from a net-export position with a €207 million surplus to a net-import position with a €278 million deficit. This reversal was driven primarily by a massive increase in imports of ground flying trainers and simulation equipment, sourced overwhelmingly from Canada and Switzerland, while EU exports of air combat simulators nearly vanished and export prices came under pressure.

Several factors likely contributed to this shift: growing European demand for advanced pilot training systems in the context of defence modernisation; a concentration of high-end simulation manufacturing capabilities in North America; China's increasing self-sufficiency and the EU's loss of the Chinese export market; and the EU's reorientation toward Middle Eastern and South Asian export markets. The EU's net import reliance — moving from near self-sufficiency to 15.5% — and the persistence of high import concentration (HHI above 3,700) suggest that this sector may warrant attention from a strategic autonomy perspective, particularly given the defence and dual-use nature of these products.

EU production data shows growth (value up 174.9% and quantity up 80.6% over the period), indicating that the bloc's own manufacturing base is expanding. However, this growth has not been sufficient to keep pace with surging demand, resulting in the growing import gap. Monitoring the evolution of this balance — and the geographical concentration of import sources — will be important for assessing the EU's strategic resilience in aerospace defence training capabilities.