Rolls-Royce has agreed to work with Japan’s IHI Corporation to develop and deliver a future fighter engine demonstrator.
The engine demonstrator programme will be a critical step forward in enabling the UK and Japan to develop their future fighter aircraft requirements, potentially securing hundreds of future jobs in the two countries. Work on the joint engine demonstrator will kickstart early 2022, with the UK investing an initial £30 million in planning, digital designs and innovative manufacturing developments.
A further £200 million of UK funding is expected to go towards developing a full-scale demonstrator power system, supporting hundreds of highly skilled jobs, including many at Rolls-Royce’s Filton facility in Bristol.
Rolls-Royce has a long and strong heritage of partnering in Japan through the development of technology, engineering and supply chain relationships since the 1960s. The company employs over 40 members of staff in the Kobe and Tokyo offices, and a further 5,000 Japanese work on Rolls-Royce programmes in its partner organisations.
The recent technology programmes conducted by Japanese government and Japanese industries, coupled with access to the technologies being developed in the UK Tempest programme, will enable the development of a world-class next-generation power and propulsion system.
