Commercial Aircraft Engine Dominance Gives the USA Military Air Domination

The US companies with mainly French and British Partners dominate the market share of the global aircraft engine market:
CFM International: 39%
Pratt & Whitney: 35%
GE Aviation: 14%
Rolls-Royce: 12%

This commercial aircraft engine domination supports the US domination of military jets. The high tech alloys and advanced enables the military jet engines to be more fuel efficient, reliable and higher performance.

The aircraft engine market is expected to reach $100 billion in 2023, grow to $124 billion by 2028 and $151 billion in 2032. GE, Pratt & Whitney are two of the main players in military jet engines. The Fighter Jet Engine Market size was $11.3 Billion in 2022 and will grow to $16.5 Billion by 2032.

China’s engine technology is about 30 years behind the United States. The American F119 has a maximum diameter of 1.13 meters and a weight of 1360 kg. In such a small volume, it contains multiple components such as a 3-stage fan, a 6-stage high-pressure compressor, and a combustion chamber. It has to withstand the test of high temperature resistance during operation. In terms of service life, the service life of F119 is as high as 6,800 hours, while the service life of China’s turbofan 15 is only 3,600 hours, which is almost half that of the United States. The American F119 has been around for about 30 years, with a thrust-to-weight ratio of about 10, and the F135’s thrust-to-weight ratio is as high as 10-12. China’s J-20 was previously equipped with the Russian AL31F engine which was also developed more than 20 years ago, with a thrust-to-weight ratio of less than 8. It was later replaced with China’s self-developed turbofan 10 with a thrust-to-weight ratio of about 8. The highly anticipated turbofan 15 is said to have a thrust-to-weight ratio of nearly 10, which is also far behind the F135.

The ATEP 6th generation engines are targeting thrust to weight ratios of 15.

The parts and components produced by China’s manufacturing equipment are less precise than those produced by foreign equipment. Therefore, China also needs to purchase foreign manufacturing equipment.

There is some confusion over whether the thrust power of the WS-15 was from ground testing or high altitude tests. The US engine makers quote ground testing thrust measurements. High-altitude thrust tests would give thrust that is 20% higher.

CFM International is a 50:50 joint venture between GE Aircraft Engines and SNECMA of France. They have created the very successful CFM56 series, derived from GE’s CF6 and Snecma’s M56. It powers the Boeing 737, Airbus A340 and Airbus A318 to A321 family of aircraft. Around 30,000 CFM56 engines have been delivered to over 550 operators worldwide.

LEAP engines, which GE produces in a joint venture with France’s Safran (SAF.PA), power the narrowbody aircraft of Boeing Co (BA.N) and Airbus (AIR.PA). The company now estimates the engine deliveries to be up 40% to 45% this year from 2022, down from a 50% increase estimated earlier. LEAP aims to have 20% to 25% year-on-year increase in LEAP engine deliveries in 2024.

GE’s aerospace unit posted double-digit growth in orders, revenue and profit from a year earlier. Its margin expanded by 130 basis points in the quarter from a year ago. GE engines include the CF6 on the Boeing 767, Boeing 747 and Airbus A330. The GE90 is only on Boeing 777. The GenX was developed for the Boeing 747-8 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner and proposed for the Airbus A350. The GE9X currently holds the title for the most powerful engine in the world. The engine will feature on the upcoming 777X and has already flown a number of test flights. The engine is based on the design of the GE90.

GE Aviation and Safran have launched a bold technology development programme targeting more than 20 per cent lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions compared to today’s engines. CFM’s RISE Revolutionary Innovation for Sustainable Engines (RISE) programme will demonstrate and mature a range of new, disruptive technologies for future engines that could enter service by the mid-2030s.

Pratt & Whitney that has joint ventures with the leading engine manufacturers, is a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies. Its aircraft engines are widely used on both civil and military aircraft. Today, it has over 13,000 large commercial engines installed. The GTF engine with its revolutionary geared fan technology, powers the Airbus A220 and A320neo family and Embraer E190-E2.

Three Chinese corporations build turbofan engines. Some of these are licensed or reverse engineered versions of European and Russian turbofans and the others are indigenous models. Shenyang Aircraft Corporation manufactures WS-10, Xi’an Aero-Engine Corporation manufactures WS-15 and Guizhou Aircraft Industry Corporation manufactures WS-13 turbofan.