In total, the frequency of sentences related to robotics between July 2020 and June 2021 was 90% higher than in 2016 when GlobalData, from whom our data for this article is taken, first began to track the key issues referred to in company filings.

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When companies in the aerospace and defence sector publish annual and quarterly reports, ESG reports and other filings, GlobalData analyses the text and identifies individual sentences that relate to disruptive forces facing companies in the coming years. Robotics is one of these topics - companies that excel and invest in these areas are thought to be better prepared for the future business landscape and better equipped to survive unforeseen challenges.

To assess whether robotics is featuring more in the summaries and strategies of companies in the aerospace and defence sector, two measures were calculated. Firstly, we looked at the percentage of companies which have mentioned robotics at least once in filings during the past twelve months - this was 42% compared to 30% in 2016. Secondly, we calculated the percentage of total analysed sentences that referred to robotics.

Of the 20 biggest employers in the aerospace and defence sector, Leonardo SpA was the company that referred to robotics the most between July 2020 and June 2021. GlobalData identified 22 robotics-related sentences in the Italy-based company's filings - 0.4% of all sentences. Rheinmetall AG mentioned robotics the second-most - the issue was referred to in 0.2% of sentences in the company's filings. Other top employers with high robotics mentions included Thales SA, Safran SA and Airbus SE.

Across all companies in the aerospace and defence sector, the filing published in the second quarter of 2021 which exhibited the greatest focus on robotics came from Leonardo SpA. Of the document's 3,226 sentences, 21 (0.7%) referred to robotics.

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This analysis provides an approximate indication of which companies are focusing on robotics and how important the issue is considered within the aerospace and defence sector, but it also has limitations and should be interpreted carefully. For example, a company mentioning robotics more regularly is not necessarily proof that they are utilising new techniques or prioritising the issue, nor does it indicate whether the company's ventures into robotics have been successes or failures.

In the last quarter, companies in the aerospace and defence sector based in the United States were most likely to mention robotics with 0.09% of sentences in company filings referring to the issue. In contrast, companies with their headquarters in Western Europe mentioned robotics in just 0.09% of sentences.