Aerospace Engineering · 180 journals ranked · top 40 listed

Best journals for Aerospace Engineering

The top 40 of 180 Aerospace Engineering journals, ranked by Scimago quartile, then by whether OpenAlex and Scimago agree on the subject and how central Aerospace Engineering is to each journal, then OpenAlex cites/paper (2-year window), leaving out journals both place in another discipline, drawn from a 17,500-venue index. Predatory venues are excluded; the FAQ below gives the exact ranking rule. These are field-wide rankings — for a shortlist matched to your specific paper, paste your title and abstract into the Journal Finder (a free account starts with 25 welcome credits).

Data as of — the date our venue index was last rebuilt from OpenAlex and Scimago.

  1. 1
    Progress in Aerospace Sciences
    18.8 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
    ScopusWeb of Science
  2. 2
    Drones
    6.5 cites/paper · Q1 · Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  3. 3
    Chinese Journal of Aeronautics
    5.2 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
    ScopusWeb of Science
  4. 4
    IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems
    4.8 cites/paper · Q1 · Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
    ScopusWeb of Science
  5. 5
    Aerospace Science and Technology
    4.4 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
    ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  6. 6
    Acta Astronautica
    4.0 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
    ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  7. 7
    Journal of Guidance Control and Dynamics
    3.1 cites/paper · Q1 · American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
    ScopusWeb of Science
  8. 8
    Journal of Propulsion and Power
    3.0 cites/paper · Q1 · American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
    ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  9. 9
    NAVIGATION Journal of the Institute of Navigation
    2.8 cites/paper · Q1 · Wiley
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
  10. 10
    Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets
    2.4 cites/paper · Q1 · American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
    ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  11. 11
    The Journal of the Astronautical Sciences
    1.9 cites/paper · Q1 · Springer Science+Business Media
    ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  12. 12
    Electromagnetic waves
    7.0 cites/paper · Q1
    Open AccessScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  13. 13
    GPS Solutions
    5.6 cites/paper · Q1 · Springer Science+Business Media
    ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  14. 14
    IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation
    5.0 cites/paper · Q1 · IEEE Antennas & Propagation Society
    ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  15. 15
    Wind energy science
    4.9 cites/paper · Q1 · Copernicus Publications
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
  16. 16
    Defence Technology
    4.9 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
  17. 17
    Journal of Field Robotics
    4.1 cites/paper · Q1 · Wiley
    ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  18. 18
    IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters
    4.1 cites/paper · Q1 · Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
    ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  19. 19
    IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters
    4.0 cites/paper · Q1 · IEEE Antennas & Propagation Society
    ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  20. 20
    Progress in Nuclear Energy
    3.7 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
    ScopusWeb of Science
  21. 21
    Journal of Thermal Spray Technology
    3.4 cites/paper · Q1 · Springer Science+Business Media
    ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  22. 22
    IEEE Open Journal of Antennas and Propagation
    3.1 cites/paper · Q1 · Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
  23. 23
    Nuclear Engineering and Design
    3.1 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
    ScopusWeb of Science
  24. 24
    Annals of Nuclear Energy
    2.7 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
    ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  25. 25
    Aerospace
    2.9 cites/paper · Q2 · Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  26. 26
    CEAS Aeronautical Journal
    2.4 cites/paper · Q2 · Springer Science+Business Media
    ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  27. 27
    Journal of Aerospace Engineering
    2.2 cites/paper · Q2 · American Society of Civil Engineers
    ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  28. 28
    The Aeronautical Journal
    2.2 cites/paper · Q2 · Cambridge University Press
    ScopusWeb of Science
  29. 29
    International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences
    2.0 cites/paper · Q2 · Springer Science+Business Media
    ScopusWeb of Science
  30. 30
    Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology
    2.0 cites/paper · Q2 · Emerald Publishing Limited
    ScopusWeb of Science
  31. 31
    International Journal of Aerospace Engineering
    1.7 cites/paper · Q2 · Hindawi Publishing Corporation
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
  32. 32
    Journal of Aircraft
    1.7 cites/paper · Q2 · American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
    ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  33. 33
    Journal of the American Helicopter Society
    1.4 cites/paper · Q2 · Vertical Flight Society
    ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  34. 34
    Wind Energy
    3.4 cites/paper · Q2 · Wiley
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  35. 35
    Nuclear Engineering and Technology
    2.8 cites/paper · Q2 · Elsevier BV
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  36. 36
    Cryogenics
    2.6 cites/paper · Q2 · Elsevier BV
    ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  37. 37
    Journal of Navigation
    1.5 cites/paper · Q2 · Cambridge University Press
    ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
  38. 38
    International Journal of Satellite Communications and Networking
    1.5 cites/paper · Q2 · Wiley
    ScopusWeb of Science
  39. 39
    IET Radar Sonar & Navigation
    1.4 cites/paper · Q2 · Institution of Engineering and Technology
    Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of Science
  40. 40
    IETE Technical Review
    1.3 cites/paper · Q2 · Taylor & Francis
    ScopusWeb of Science

“Cites/paper” is the OpenAlex 2-year citation rate — a transparent signal, not a licensed Impact Factor. Many regional and open-access journals are strong but aren’t covered by Scimago, so they show “no Scimago quartile”; that’s a coverage gap, not a quality judgement.

Part of best journals for Engineering.

Best journals in other disciplines

Frequently asked

From a 17,500-venue index, the highest-ranked Aerospace Engineering journals include Progress in Aerospace Sciences, Drones, Chinese Journal of Aeronautics, IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, Aerospace Science and Technology. The top 40 of 180 ranked venues are listed on this page; 24 are Scimago Q1 and 16 Q2. Each shows its open-access status and indexing, and predatory venues are excluded. For a shortlist matched to your specific paper, use the Journal Finder (15 credits; free account starts with 25).

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