Our Take – Rolls Royce: Rolls-Royce announces successful first tests of UltraFan technology demonstrator in Derby, UK

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This is a major milestone for Rolls-Royce. UltraFan has been in development for more than a decade and arrives as Rolls’ original assumptions never materialized: An eventual A350neo and a spot on Boeing’s NMA. In an interview with TAC in July 2022, outgoing Rolls CEO Warren East said the company would “pause that engine program” after its initial runs and its advanced attributes would become an organ donor for the Trent XWB and 1000. All this comes as Tufan Erginbilgic, its new CEO, tries the save the business from itself. -J.O.

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Jon Ostrower
Jon Ostrower is Editor-in-chief of The Air Current, where he leads coverage of the global aerospace and aviation industries. Prior to launching TAC in June 2018, Mr. Ostrower served as Aviation Editor for CNN Worldwide, guiding the network’s global coverage of the business and operations of aviation. Mr. Ostrower joined CNN in 2016 following four and a half years at the Wall Street Journal. Based first in Chicago and then in Washington, D.C., he covered Boeing, aviation safety, and the business of global aerospace. Before that, Mr. Ostrower was editor of FlightBlogger for Flightglobal and Flight International Magazine covering the development of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and other new aircraft programs from 2007 to 2012. He is also an instructor at the University of Southern California in the Viterbi School of Engineering's Aviation Safety and Security program. Mr. Ostrower, a Boston native, graduated from The George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs with a bachelor’s degree in Political Communication. He is based in Seattle.

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