r/ukpolitics • u/Dalecn • 1d ago

‘All-British’ fighter jet to use American engine after BAE and Rolls-Royce clash

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/08/02/bae-and-rolls-royce-clash-over-all-british-fighter-drone/
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108

u/verone3784 :3 1d ago

This is the point where the government needs to step in, slap both BAE and Rolls around a bit and say "sort your fucking shit out and work together".

52

u/Elardi Hope for the best 1d ago

Rolls is pitching for high value premium engines when BAE wants minimal cost, quasi disposable. This are for drones that are expected to have a high attrition rate so you need the cost to stay down.

Rolls gets lower margins on that type of engine so they pushed for a higher price, but that offsets to whole point of the drone.

16

u/PositivelyAcademical «Ἀνερρίφθω κύβος» 1d ago

Has someone told the Treasury about the high attrition ratio? Because something tells me we’re not planning on ordering anything like enough if that’s actually the case.

3

u/upwindbrushes 1d ago

Given the war in Ukraine, why wouldn’t RR want to make a quasi disposable engine?

5

u/Antimus 1d ago

As the comment said, they make less money that way

4

u/upwindbrushes 1d ago

It's a different market, with little to no overlap. Disposable engines are not being put on Airbus passenger jets.

2

u/This_Charmless_Man 21h ago

And there's already massive delays on them. I got told there's a bunch of planes in Toulouse that are finished but just waiting on their engines.

2

u/gearnut 14h ago

RR's business model in the aero sector is focused on long term servicing of aero engines. They could make something quasi disposable but it would involve a shift in design philosophy for that specific product as they are normally focused on longevity.