Engineered ceramics play key roles in aerospace applications, from structural components to protective coatings that can withstand the high-temperature, reactive environments.

Perhaps the earliest success of ceramics in aerospace applications was the use of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) as thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) on nickel-based superalloys for turbine engine applications. These coatings, which initially were used on stationary components such as combustors as early as the 1960s, allowed higher operating temperatures and increased engine efficiencies due to YSZ having low thermal conductivity.