International Bird Strike Committee

Aircraft repeatedly prove that birds and aircraft cannot occupy the same airspace at the same time. In an average year about 3000 birdstrikes cause 50-80 million US dollars in damage to USAF aircraft. To the worldwide aviation fleet this problem is estimated to cost more than three billion US dollars per year. Factors for consideration in establishing birdstrike resistance requirements, and in validating compliance with these requirements are presented. Also presented are some emerging technologies that can be used to greatly reduce the number of birdstrikes, especially with flocks of birds and with large individual birds. These emerging technologies combine aero-science and bio-science to lower the frequency of birdstrikes.