All appears forgiven between Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney now that the two engine manufacturers prepare to collaborate on the next generation of turbofans for midsize airliners ranging in size from 120 to 230 seats. Under a restructuring plan that would see Rolls-Royce sell its stake in IAE to Pratt & Whitney for $1.5 billion, the companies have agreed to collaborate on high-bypass-ratio geared turbofan technology for future propulsion systems, including “advanced” geared engines and open rotor designs. Rolls-Royce has even agreed to make a “modest” investment in the PurePower PW1000G geared turbofan now under development for the Airbus A320neo.
The deal comes barely a year after Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney parent United Technologies filed dueling lawsuits against each other–Rolls against UTC for infringing the patent on its swept fan blade and, a month later, UTC against Rolls for allegedly misleading the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office to obtain the patent. All the legal wrangling arose against the backdrop of an apparent disagreement between the IAE partners on how to proceed with the next generation of turbofan for the narrowbody market. Pratt & Whitney eventually chose to market the PW1000G Geared Turbofan on its own after Rolls-Royce opted out.
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