UK Government and Rolls-Royce plan £2.5bn UltraFan program

The 10-year research and technology program would advance more efficient and lower-emission jet engine technologies, including through an engine demonstrator project aimed at the narrowbody market.

The UK Government and Rolls-Royce plan a joint 10-year, £2.5bn research and technology program to develop gas turbine technologies for civil and defence aerospace.

The program would advance more efficient and lower-emission jet engine technologies, as Rolls-Royce looks to secure a UK engine position on the next generation of commercial aircraft in the high-volume narrowbody market segment, including through an engine demonstrator project. It would also sustain development and testing capabilities that underpin the UK’s sovereign capabilities in defence aerospace.

Next-generation narrowbody, or single-aisle, aircraft are expected to enter commercial service in the mid-to-late 2030s. Manufacturers are due to select engine partners over the next few years, ahead of potential aircraft launches around the turn of the decade.

The UK Government’s Industrial Strategy identifies the narrowbody market as the single biggest growth opportunity in aerospace over the next 50 years. Securing a UK engine position on these aircraft could add £120bn to the UK economy over the lifetime of the programme and create tens of thousands of highly skilled jobs at Rolls-Royce and across the advanced manufacturing supply chain.

Delivering the initial stages of the plan, which is subject to a final agreement, will support 3,300 UK jobs at Rolls-Royce and supply chain partners by the end of 2029. Rolls-Royce and the Government will work together on a jobs and skills development plan, while university departments will carry out research under the investment plan.

Tufan Erginbilgic, CEO, Rolls-Royce, says: “Aerospace is a growing and globally attractive market and this program with Government is vital to enable the UK to compete. Working together, we can also sustain the nation’s capability to power military aircraft and secure its position as one of only two countries that can design, develop, make and service the jet engines that power the world’s commercial airliners.”

Rolls-Royce expects to invest significantly more than the Government across the narrowbody program and is one of only three companies in the world with the end-to-end capabilities to design, manufacture and service such an engine. If airframers choose its narrowbody engine technologies, its stated ambition is to re-enter the market in partnership.

The company will select UK sites for assembly and test facilities for the engine and increase its advanced manufacturing capacity for high-tech components, including high pressure turbine blades and advanced composite fan blades. The UK supply chain will also need to build factories as Rolls-Royce and the Government work to maximise the opportunity for homegrown suppliers.