Designed, built and tested in Britain, the engines use digital engineering and manufacturing methods intended to shorten development cycles and support faster scaling. The family covers a thrust range from 30N to 2,000N.
Two engines have already reached advanced stages of the programme, including a 300N-class engine that has completed flight testing and entered serial production in the UK. A larger 1,100N-class engine moved from initial concept to flight-ready status in under seven months.
The programme is led by the Ministry of Defence’s Strategic Capabilities Office and combines government investment with matched funding from Alloyed. The co-investment model is designed to accelerate development while supporting the UK defence industrial base.
More than 60 engineering and advanced manufacturing jobs have already been created in Britain through the programme, with a further 45 expected over the next 12 months as production increases. The initiative also supports a UK supply chain involving more than 40 suppliers, most of them small and medium-sized enterprises.
“Taking a jet engine from concept to flight-ready in just a matter of months shows how defence and industry can work together to deliver capabilities at the speed required by today’s world,” said Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard MP. “The threats we face demand the ability to produce cutting-edge technology on demand and at scale – this programme delivers that, combining sovereign manufacturing, digital engineering and industrial innovation to ensure our Armed Forces retain an operational advantage, while delivering good jobs for working people here in the UK.”
Alongside the engines themselves, the programme has established a UK-based digital design and modelling approach intended to allow new propulsion systems and variants to be designed, assessed and brought into production in months rather than years. Its modular architecture is also designed to allow future improvements to be introduced quickly without extensive redesign.
“Working alongside the Ministry of Defence has enabled Alloyed to bring to bear its world-leading metals technologies to mature and demonstrate advanced propulsion systems at remarkable pace while building a lasting capability in the UK,” said Michael Holmes, Chief Executive Officer of Alloyed. “This programme shows the power of combining defence expertise, digital engineering and industrial innovation.”
The Ministry of Defence said the combination of digital engineering, rapid development cycles and modular design is intended to help the UK respond more quickly to changing operational requirements while reducing reliance on overseas supply chains. The work also supports commitments in the Strategic Defence Review to strengthen the UK defence industry and could contribute to future exports and allied demand for resilient, sovereign propulsion solutions.
Source: Gov.uk
