Rolls-Royce returns to the narrow-body aircraft engine segment: UltraFan 30 development enters active phase

British engineering company Rolls-Royce has officially confirmed the development of a new line of UltraFan aircraft engines, including the UltraFan 30 model — the first powerplant focused on narrow-body airliners in more than a decade. The move marks the company's return to the segment it left in 2012 after completing its V2500 program.

Two versions-for two market segments

The UltraFan project involves the creation of two engine modifications:

• UltraFan 80-for wide-body airliners, with a thrust level of about 85,000 lbs;
• UltraFan 30 - for narrow-body aircraft with more than 30,000 pounds of thrust.

In 2023, Rolls-Royce completed the first bench tests of the UltraFan 80 engine, which lasted about 70 hours. Now it is being reassembled with the aim of continuing testing in the second half of 2025. No changes are made to the design, but engineers plan to refine the characteristics and fine-tune them — for example, redesign the gaps between the fan blades to improve efficiency.

UltraFan 30: a bet on the future generation of the A320

The new UltraFan 30, designed to replace the current Airbus A320neo family of powerplants, is set to become a key Rolls-Royce product in the narrow-body airliner segment. The fan diameter will be approximately 90 inches, which is more than 81 inches for the competing PW1100G, and the dual-circuit ratio will reach 15: 1, which is significantly higher than the current values (10-12:1). This will provide significant fuel savings and lower emissions.

Although the UltraFan 30 project is still at the preliminary design stage, its completion is scheduled for the end of June 2025. In the future, Rolls-Royce will begin assembling the demonstrator to go to bench tests by 2028, and by 2030-to flight tests.

Architecture and development strategy

Both versions of UltraFan-80 and 30-are developed on the basis of a single architecture, which will optimize costs and simplify production. Rolls-Royce plans to build two copies of each engine for a full cycle of ground and flight tests.

The company is also in talks to attract an industrial partner, especially to finance the UltraFan 30 program. This decision is driven by the high cost of bringing the product to market and the need to compete with established players, including Pratt & Whitney and CFM International.

Rolls-Royce is taking a strategically important step to return to the narrow-body engine segment by targeting the dominant mid-range market. The UltraFan 30 program promises high efficiency, meeting the environmental requirements of the future and can become one of the key technologies for the next generation of airliners.