Log-in here if you’re already a subscriber
Startup JetZero has selected an older generation, higher-thrust engine to power the blended wing body demonstrator it is currently building with Northrop Grumman and Scaled Composites for the U.S. Air Force. The timeline for flight of the demonstrator remains unchanged, aiming for early 2027, but the program now faces a major strategic challenge in the longer term that it had previously avoided.
JetZero will now fly the Pratt & Whitney PW2040, a turbofan that first debuted on the Boeing 757-200 freighter in 1987 with UPS Airlines, but it will not be JetZero’s engine of choice beyond the demonstrator.
Related: JetZero embarks on the long journey to a blended wing airliner
The absence of production-ready propulsion for the commercialized version of the blended wing design — either for passenger, freighter or military application — adds to a growing need for a next-generation 40,000-pound engine for military and civil applications.
“It’s a problem economists said shouldn’t exist: a $20 bill lying on the goddamn pavement,” said Richard Aboulafia, managing director of the AeroDynamic Advisory consultancy, of the opportunity for engine developers to supply the U.S. Air Force, JetZero and even a new large narrowbody — like the one under study by Embraer.
Subscribe to continue reading...Subscribe to Continue Reading
Our award-winning aerospace reporting combines the highest standards of journalism with the level of technical detail and rigor expected by a sophisticated industry audience.
- Exclusive reporting and analysis on the strategy and technology of flying
- Full access to our archive of industry intelligence
- We respect your time; everything we publish earns your attention
