British/Italian Tempest (GCAP) Fighter : News and Discussion

Troubles At Rolls-Royce Provoke Speculation About Its Future


Of all the large commercial aircraft and engine OEMs ranked in a new customer satisfaction survey by the Aviation Week Network and AeroDynamic Advisory, one sticks out in a very bad way: Rolls-Royce.

According to the 2018 Air Transport Aftermarket Customer Satisfaction Survey, Britain’s crown jewel of aerospace manufacturing ranked worst, with an overall score of just 6.6 on a 0-10 scale. Rolls paled in comparison to CFM International (7.2), GE Aviation and United Technologies Corp.’s Pratt & Whitney (7.0 each), let alone aircraft OEMs, which saw scores ranging from Bombardier’s category low 6.9 to Boeing’s best-of-survey 7.8.

What may be worse for Rolls is how it fared on so-called net promoter scores (NPS). The scores were created by legendary consultant Fred Reicheld at Bain & Co. to illustrate how satisfied or loyal a customer is to a product or service. NPS run from -100 to 100, with any percentage above zero essentially being positive—meaning more people would recommend a company’s product or service than not. Fifty is considered “good,” while 60-70 is “world class.” Among the eight big OEMs, Rolls looks like it fell off a cliff at -24%

Followers of the beleaguered British engine maker may not be surprised, considering the onslaught of bad news lately. On July 6, Rolls announced the sale of its Commercial Marine business to Kongsberg for £500 million ($662 million), its latest divestiture as the company rolls into its third year of restructuring under CEO Warren East.

On June 14, the company disclosed it will cut 4,600 jobs over the next two years in a bid to save £400 million a year. The cutbacks are part of an effort to become more streamlined, cost-effective, nimble and innovative, executives say. The layoffs came six months after the company announced a restructuring of its business units—forming three divisions: Civil Aerospace, Power Systems and Defense—and the thinning of upper management. Higher cash-flow targets also were outlined.

Still, there are the issues with the Trent 1000 engine that have grounded Boeing 787s and caused airlines worldwide to adjust schedules and find new capacity. Redesign of the problem components—the blades of the intermediate-pressure (IP) compressor rotor—has begun. They have been wearing out faster than expected. But repairing all the engines in service could take years.

The latest headlines may recall the early 1970s, when Rolls went bankrupt, partly due to the RB-211 engine, and was nationalized by the British government. While all the major commercial engine companies are having some level of problems with some products, Rolls is the only one laying off and restructuring amid the greatest “supercycle” boom ever in air transport orders.

Financial observers are busy trying to figure out what it all means for Rolls. Many say the extensive overhaul, a first for Rolls, raises questions, and so do the stated cash goals’ achievability.

“New targets are a positive step forward, but we are cautious of challenges of execution,” Sanford C. Bernstein analysts said June 23.

Moody’s Investors Service said June 25 that East likely has “established the foundations for fundamental change” and that Rolls should be able to reach its 2018 free cash-flow guidance, putting it on course for steady increases to £1-1.2 billion by 2020. But the company cannot afford missteps. “There is very limited room for further underperformance, including additional losses or lower cash flows due to engine issues or additional restructuring measures,” Moody’s says.

Recently, far more stable companies have fallen to shareholder activism and are responding to divestiture pressures, namely GE and UTC, and merger and acquisition activity should remain hot for 12-24 months. To wit, there has been speculation of a Rolls-Pratt tie-up for decades. It is not clear London would allow such a deal, but stranger things have been happening of late.

“Let’s face it, five years ago, no one expected Donald Trump to be U.S. president or the UK to leave the EU,” Vertical Research Partners said June 15. “Although the mix shift from OEM to aftermarket at Rolls should still progress, an aerospace downcycle could shake things up, particularly if mature Rolls-powered 777 classics, A340s and A330s are abruptly yanked from service. As we’ve recently seen with the Trent 1000, ‘stuff happens,’ and management’s move to radically overhaul the structure and culture of the company is not without risk.”

Note the analysts: “A lot can happen in five years.”
 
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Troubles At Rolls-Royce Provoke Speculation About Its Future


Of all the large commercial aircraft and engine OEMs ranked in a new customer satisfaction survey by the Aviation Week Network and AeroDynamic Advisory, one sticks out in a very bad way: Rolls-Royce.

According to the 2018 Air Transport Aftermarket Customer Satisfaction Survey, Britain’s crown jewel of aerospace manufacturing ranked worst, with an overall score of just 6.6 on a 0-10 scale. Rolls paled in comparison to CFM International (7.2), GE Aviation and United Technologies Corp.’s Pratt & Whitney (7.0 each), let alone aircraft OEMs, which saw scores ranging from Bombardier’s category low 6.9 to Boeing’s best-of-survey 7.8.

What may be worse for Rolls is how it fared on so-called net promoter scores (NPS). The scores were created by legendary consultant Fred Reicheld at Bain & Co. to illustrate how satisfied or loyal a customer is to a product or service. NPS run from -100 to 100, with any percentage above zero essentially being positive—meaning more people would recommend a company’s product or service than not. Fifty is considered “good,” while 60-70 is “world class.” Among the eight big OEMs, Rolls looks like it fell off a cliff at -24%

Followers of the beleaguered British engine maker may not be surprised, considering the onslaught of bad news lately. On July 6, Rolls announced the sale of its Commercial Marine business to Kongsberg for £500 million ($662 million), its latest divestiture as the company rolls into its third year of restructuring under CEO Warren East.

On June 14, the company disclosed it will cut 4,600 jobs over the next two years in a bid to save £400 million a year. The cutbacks are part of an effort to become more streamlined, cost-effective, nimble and innovative, executives say. The layoffs came six months after the company announced a restructuring of its business units—forming three divisions: Civil Aerospace, Power Systems and Defense—and the thinning of upper management. Higher cash-flow targets also were outlined.

Still, there are the issues with the Trent 1000 engine that have grounded Boeing 787s and caused airlines worldwide to adjust schedules and find new capacity. Redesign of the problem components—the blades of the intermediate-pressure (IP) compressor rotor—has begun. They have been wearing out faster than expected. But repairing all the engines in service could take years.

The latest headlines may recall the early 1970s, when Rolls went bankrupt, partly due to the RB-211 engine, and was nationalized by the British government. While all the major commercial engine companies are having some level of problems with some products, Rolls is the only one laying off and restructuring amid the greatest “supercycle” boom ever in air transport orders.

Financial observers are busy trying to figure out what it all means for Rolls. Many say the extensive overhaul, a first for Rolls, raises questions, and so do the stated cash goals’ achievability.

“New targets are a positive step forward, but we are cautious of challenges of execution,” Sanford C. Bernstein analysts said June 23.

Moody’s Investors Service said June 25 that East likely has “established the foundations for fundamental change” and that Rolls should be able to reach its 2018 free cash-flow guidance, putting it on course for steady increases to £1-1.2 billion by 2020. But the company cannot afford missteps. “There is very limited room for further underperformance, including additional losses or lower cash flows due to engine issues or additional restructuring measures,” Moody’s says.

Recently, far more stable companies have fallen to shareholder activism and are responding to divestiture pressures, namely GE and UTC, and merger and acquisition activity should remain hot for 12-24 months. To wit, there has been speculation of a Rolls-Pratt tie-up for decades. It is not clear London would allow such a deal, but stranger things have been happening of late.

“Let’s face it, five years ago, no one expected Donald Trump to be U.S. president or the UK to leave the EU,” Vertical Research Partners said June 15. “Although the mix shift from OEM to aftermarket at Rolls should still progress, an aerospace downcycle could shake things up, particularly if mature Rolls-powered 777 classics, A340s and A330s are abruptly yanked from service. As we’ve recently seen with the Trent 1000, ‘stuff happens,’ and management’s move to radically overhaul the structure and culture of the company is not without risk.”

Note the analysts: “A lot can happen in five years.”

Although the prospects of a buyout seem dim , now and in the perceivable future , given the strategic nature of RR's biz , I sincerely hope our desi super heavyweight like RIL or Tatas have RR on their radar . Stranger things have happened as this article highlights & we certainly are living in strange times.
 
Now this is the kind of truly forward looking project an advanced country needs. A technological leap like the Apollo missions gave Americans a lead for generations. Through this project Britain will bring in latest technologies like ms paint, ms photoshop, adobe image editor and movie maker software. Entire generations of publicists, digital designers and visual artists can be trained at the highest level to make them the best in the world.
 
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Now this is the kind of truly forward looking project an advanced country needs. A technological leap like the Apollo missions gave Americans a lead for generations. Through this project Britain will bring in latest technologies like ms paint, ms photoshop, adobe image editor and movie maker software. Entire generations of publicists, digital designers and visual artists can be trained at the highest level to make them the best in the world.
Don't give up your day job.
 
Iss ko kehtay hain..
Gaand dhonay ko paani nahii aur naam samundar Khan :p

British economy is in tatters, they dont even have money to take care of disabled and elderly and yet they are up-selling themselves by posting these CGI of some Billion Pound war jet.
 
That German-French JV looks better than this project.
The UK initiative is just a political move. or, as the LM mood, a marketing move.
Brexit will cost a lot, and there are already so many defense programm to finance.... => No way for this 15years old wooden scale.
 
After having spurned Moscow’s proposal to jointly develop a fifth-generation fighter aircraft, the Indian Air Force (IAF) will be invited this month by the UK to co-develop a sixth-generation fighter called the Tempest.

Business Standard learns that a UK delegation, including Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials and executives from British defence giant BAE Systems, who will arrive on February 18 for the Aero India 2019 exhibition in Bengaluru, will brief Indian MoD and IAF officials and gauge the potential for collaboration.

“We are looking for international partners to access the best assured capability (for developing the Tempest),” said Nik Khanna, who heads BAE Systems India.
The Tempest fighter will be targeted to enter service around 2035-2040, when the earliest Eurofighter Typhoons – in service in the UK, German, Italian, Spanish, Saudi Arabian, and Omani air forces – start to retire. Tempest was first unveiled as a concept fighter at the Farnborough Airshow in the UK last summer.

The Tempest’s configuration and capabilities are still being worked out. Under discussion are questions like whether it will be manned or remotely piloted, whether it will have a variable cycle engine and be capable of “directed energy” attacks, using weapons like laser beams; whether it will control drones for “swarm attacks”, and incorporate artificial intelligence and deep learning. The only thing that seems clear is that the sixth-generation Tempest will be technologically far more advanced than current fifth-generation fighters like the F-22, F-35, J-20, and J-31. The so-called Team Tempest, which will develop this futuristic fighter, includes, besides BAE Systems as the lead integrator, Rolls-Royce for the engines, Leonardo UK for sensors, and MBDA UK for missile systems. In addition to these, the UK believes other international partners, such as India, will be essential. Officials in Team Tempest say international partners will be chosen based on four parameters: a large military that will buy more aircraft; a large defence budget to pay development costs; industrial capability to play a useful development role; and powerful international influence to support the alliance.

Asked what role India could play in developing such an advanced fighter, Khanna said: “A big cost driver for a futuristic aerospace system is going to be the requirement for more and more software engineers. India has a huge capability in that area.”
This search for foreign partners for Team Tempest comes at a time of decline for British defence industry. On Thursday, Financial Times cited a new report by research firm IHS Markit that finds “Britain is set to become a net importer of defence equipment for the first time since the Civil War in the mid-17th century.”
To reverse this trend, the UK has unveiled a Combat Air Strategy that undergirds the Tempest announcement. BAE Systems sources say this is a British statement of intent to retain its century-old leading role in the field of aerial combat, including nurturing aerospace industry as a key component of that.
In Farnborough, the UK government had announced a 2-billion pound investment into British aerospace industry, to create capabilities that would support the Tempest programme. It was hoped that this high profile announcement of an iconic programme would inspire young engineers to work in this sector. It was also hoped that this would encourage investments into the British aerospace sector.
“The UK combat air sector is a national asset. Not just the Royal Air Force, but also the industry that underpins that, creating 18,000 skilled jobs as well," said a source in the UK defence ministry.
Asked whether India would be able to shape the configuration of the Tempest fighter, Khanna stated: “We are committed to engaging with potential international partners at the very start of the programme so we can ensure that any system is designed with all partners’ interests in mind, as opposed to developing a system that is purely for the UK.”

UK to invite India to co-develop sixth-generation fighter aircraft Tempest
 
No thanks. After the project starts they'll declare we're using Aid money to make weapons. And then when war starts they'll debate why their weapons are being used for war. Little $hits.