The aerospace sector is under threat from ambitious international competitors and the space agency has "foundered" for a decade, says a review of one of the country's biggest industries.

The aerospace report calls on the Harper government to beef up spending to develop space technology, diverting the money from other research programs.

It also urges Ottawa to be more aggressive in promoting Canada's aerospace industry abroad and to negotiate co-operation agreements with emerging industry players, such as China and India.

Canada should be proud of its status as a global aerospace power, said David Emerson, the former cabinet minister who led the wide-ranging review.

The country will lose its competitive position in the industry if it sits back and doesn't invest, he warned in the two-volume report.

"Times have changed," Emerson told a news conference.

"It's fair to say that the past, and our successes in the past, cannot simply be replicated going forward," he said.

"We're going to have to change and adapt to new global realities."

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., an Indian state-owned company, is heavily involved in building helicopters and plans to eventually develop its own fighter planes and commercial aircraft.

Industry watcher Suzanne Benoit, CEO of Aero Montreal, notes that Hindustan hasn't gone heavily into commercial markets yet, but it's only a matter of time.

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Canada urged to bolster aerospace industry