Rolls-Royce has taken a major step in its return to the market for short-haul aircraft by beginning work on a smaller version of its new Ultrafan engine.

Rolls-Royce boss Tufan Erginbilgic targets short-haul market

Boss Tufan Erginbilgic said the company was working on a 'demonstrator' of the engine at its main headquarters in Derby - alongside the larger version designed for long-haul planes.

The move signals Rolls- Royce's return to the fastgrowing market for 'narrowbody' aircraft used by the likes of Ryanair and Easyjet for shorter international flights or domestic routes.

Erginbilgic's comments came during a wide-ranging briefing at Farnborough Air Show in which he also said delays over the future of Britain's fighter jet programme were not helpful.

Rolls-Royce quit the narrowbody market more than a decade ago only to miss out as demand for the likes of the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 took off,while wide-body orders slowed. Its latest move will see the engineer muscle in on a field dominated by America's Pratt & Whitney and GE.

Rolls says its Ultrafan engine - expected to enter service in the 2030s - will be more fuel efficient and be able to run on 100pc sustainable aviation fuel,which is made from waste such as cooking oil and results in much lower carbon emissions.

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It has already tested the larger version of the engines at full power and has said that the technology will be 'scalable',indicating an ambition to make smaller versions.

Rolls will still need to sign up customers - the likes of Airbus or Boeing - that make the planes that use the engines.

'At some point we need to get them on board,but that work is under way,' Erginbilgic said.

A test flight could take place in three to five years. Erginbilgic has said that if it develops narrow-body engines it will need to work in partnership with another company to produce them.

Meanwhile,Rolls-Royce is also working on the Tempest fighter jet programme,which has been subject to growing doubts over its future after Labour announced a defence review due next year.

Erginbilgic said holding the review 'makes sense' but took issue with how long it will take,which is adding uncertainty to a programme that 1,000 Rolls-Royce employees are already working on,diverting some engineers from its civil aerospace division.

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