Rolls-Royce’s Option: Embraer or JetZero, Not the Duopoly

It’s Day 2 at Farnborough, and engine orders and selections announced so far have been substantial, with Day 1 alone featuring 466 firm engine orders (plus 60 options) alongside aircraft deals. These are big numbers, and they fill the backlog well beyond 2030. So, news from Rolls-Royce about seeking UK government support to develop a new engine bears consideration. How does this new engine program fit in anywhere?

Rolls-Royce’s UltraFan 30 is aimed at the next generation of single-aisle aircraft — the company’s bid to re-enter narrowbody after exiting the V2500 program over a decade ago. It’s asking for £100–200 million in initial UK government backing to fund development and testing of the scaled demonstrator, part of a program expected to cost ~£3 billion (~$4bn) in total. It has already sunk over £500 million (some reports say ~£1 billion) into UltraFan R&D broadly. There are only two paths Rolls-Royce has to follow if it gets that support. It’s a growing if: CEO Erginbilgic first pushed this publicly back in February, with a target of getting a government commitment in the first half of 2026 — that window has now passed without a decision, which is presumably why he’s escalating again at Farnborough.

This week’s Engine Deals

• IndiGo (India) signed an MoU with CFM International for over 1,000 LEAP-1A engines to power 510 Airbus

  A320neo-family aircraft. This is the largest single order in LEAP engine history and a record for CFM.

• BOC Aviation (Singapore lessor) placed its largest-ever engine order — up to 300 CFM LEAP engines (firm order for 200 LEAP-1A + 100 LEAP-1B) to support its Airbus A320neo-family and Boeing 737 MAX narrowbody fleet.
• British Airways selected Pratt & Whitney GTF (PW1100G) engines for up to 63 Airbus A320neo aircraft (33 firm + 30 options). This represents a switch for part of its narrowbody fleet.

It is still Day 2, and there’s more to come. We honor news embargoes, so no details. But there are more deals to come.