3 min read - 29 Oct, 2026
Rolls-Royce unveils £2.5bn research programme for next-gen jet engines
The UK government and Rolls-Royce have announced plans for a joint 10-year, £2.5bn research and technology programme to develop cutting-edge gas turbine technologies for civil and defence aerospace, unlocking the biggest opportunity to transform advanced manufacturing across the UK for a generation.
The programme will advance more efficient and lower-emission jet engine technologies, including through an engine demonstrator project. This comes as Rolls-Royce looks to secure a UK engine position on the next generation of high-volume, narrowbody commercial aircraft. It will also sustain vital development and testing capabilities, strengthening national resilience and supporting the UK’s critical sovereign capabilities in aerospace and defence.
New narrowbody aircraft—also known as single-aisle planes—are expected to enter commercial service in the mid-to-late 2030s. Manufacturers are expected to select engine partners over the next few years in anticipation of potential aircraft launches around the turn of the decade.
The UK government and Rolls-Royce have announced plans for a joint 10-year £2.5bn research programme to develop next-generation jet engines / Picture: Rolls-Royce
The government’s Industrial Strategy highlights 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 lead to billions more being invested in the UK over subsequent decades, adding £120bn to the UK economy over the lifetime of the programme. Success could create tens of thousands of skilled jobs at Rolls-Royce and across the country’s advanced manufacturing supply chain, and lead to the construction of new, globally competitive manufacturing facilities.
Rolls-Royce expects to invest significantly more than the government across the narrowbody programme. Rolls-Royce is one of only three companies in the world capable of offering the end-to-end capabilities needed to design, manufacture, and service such an engine.
Tufan Erginbilgic, CEO, Rolls-Royce, said: “This is a landmark moment for the UK’s aerospace industry. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to lay the foundations for decades of sustainable economic growth across the UK, creating high-value jobs and transforming the country’s advanced manufacturing supply chain. Aerospace is a growing and globally attractive market, and this programme with government is vital to enable the UK to compete.”
The agreement is expected to support 3,300 jobs by the end of 2029, with tens of thousands more in the decades ahead / Picture: Rolls-Royce
Delivering the initial stages of the plan, which is subject to final agreement, will support 3,300 UK jobs at Rolls-Royce and supply chain partners by the end of 2029. Securing a UK engine position on new narrowbody aircraft would create tens of thousands more. As a result, Rolls-Royce and the government will work together on a jobs and skills development plan to provide the necessary pipeline of future talent. The investment plan will also benefit the UK’s academic institutions, with university departments carrying out new research.
If Rolls-Royce’s narrowbody engine technologies are chosen by airframers, its stated ambition is to re-enter the market in partnership. It will select sites in the UK for new state-of-the-art facilities for the assembly and testing of the new engine, while increasing capacity to manufacture high-tech components such as high-pressure turbine blades and advanced composite fan blades. New factories will also need to be built across the UK supply chain as Rolls-Royce and the government work together to maximize opportunities for homegrown suppliers.
