Rolls-Royce will maintain and service EJ200 engines to power the Eurofighter Typhoon multirole aircraft in service with the UK Royal Air Force (RAF).
The contract, known as the Typhoon Engine Support Solution (TESS), valued at more than half a billion pounds, granted by the Ministry of Defence on 8 May 2025, will see the British defence prime repair 130 engines over a five-year period at its headquarters in Bristol.
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According to GlobalData intelligence derived from the ‘United Kingdom Defense Market, 2025-2030’ report, there are 159 Typhoons in active service. The first series production aircraft was flown in 2003.
Smaller and simpler than its contemporaries, but still delivering a high thrust-to-weight ratio, the EJ200 engine was developed by Eurojet, a consortium formed in 1986 including Roll-Royce, MTU, Avio, and ITP.
Reaction: Starmer
Hours before Rolls-Royce announced the contract award, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivered a speech at the London Defence Conference where he said now that the peace dividend has ended, the UK should “seize the defence dividend.”
This is also slightly enhanced recently by the pending UK-US trade deal announced yesterday (8 May) in which the US Commerce Secretary stipulated that Rolls-Royce engines may pass the American border free of the baseline 10% tariff on British imports.
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By GlobalDataIn the UK, however, the British defence industry will become a key driver of the economy in the coming years, according to Starmer, who said that his objective is for defence to “create jobs, wealth and opportunity in every corner of our country.”
It appears Rolls-Royce’s latest contract goes some way to achieving this end given that the award brings with it 200 more direct jobs.
Typhoon vs F-35A
Unite, a major British trade union, similarly welcomed the contract award in sustaining UK jobs.
Despite this, however, Unite have previously opposed an ongoing debate within government that has entertained the possibility of acquiring American-made F-35A Lightning fighter jets to succeed the Eurofighter when it departs in 2040.
Contrary to this, Germany, Italy, and Spain have each expressed interest in procuring more Typhoons for their future fleets, leaving the UK as the only partner not to do so.
In its contract update, Rolls-Royce stated that the TESS will sustain vital skills, enabling the RAF to deliver air capabilities today and bridge to future capabilities like the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP).
However, Unite have argued that procuring F-35A would threaten the extensive Typhoon supply chain that exists in the UK, and will further disrupt the development of the Tempest aircraft under GCAP.
“There is an immediate decision to be made on the replacement of aging RAF fighter jets with British made Typhoon’s. This decision needs to made in the UK’s favour,” said Unite’s national officer for aerospace, Rhys McCarthy.
“Any thought of wooing Donald Trump by selling our defence jobs abroad and replacing the RAF fleet with US made F-35s will be resisted and would be an act of self-harm.”
