PIONEERING AEROSPACE – this was the motto under which the International Aerospace Exhibition (ILA) opened its doors at Berlin Brandenburg Airport – BER on June 22nd, 2022. In total, more than 530 exhibitors with 56 aircraft and equipment showed the current state of the art in the aviation industry. Although the ILA did not come close to matching the figures of past trade shows, a cautious mood of optimism in the industry was nevertheless evident everywhere. This time, the topics were geared more than ever to current and future politics. Accordingly, the proportion of visitors from this sector was high, starting with the current German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (who officially opened the ILA on June 22) as well as numerous ministers from the red-green state and federal governments. Just as in the energy as well as in the automotive sector, the German aerospace industry has committed itself at the ILA to implement the political direction of the government. Accordingly, the Inspector of the German Air Force, Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz, saw the focal points of the trade show in the topics of security and sustainability in his opening speech.