CATIA, SolidWorks, and CREO are the most widely used CAD software in aerospace engineering, with CATIA being particularly prevalent in the industry for parametric modeling. SolidWorks is favored for 3D model construction, while ANSYS is recommended for intense analysis and finite element modeling (FEM). ABAQUS is preferred by structures engineers for finite element analysis, although custom code is also utilized in some cases. NASTRAN is a longstanding general-purpose finite element program that can handle various analysis types. Ultimately, the choice of software often depends on the specific modeling challenges faced by engineers.