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Aviation propulsion: Equipment and suppliers

Superalloy blades surviving gas hotter than they can melt

What this tab covers For each method, the main pieces of equipment, who makes them (by region) and what they are made of (bill of materials).

The conversion happens in the engine; the airframe determines how much thrust is needed. Engine makers are concentrated in the United States and Europe.

Turbofan propulsion

High-bypass turbofan engine1679

Converts fuel to thrust; the fan provides most of the thrust, the core provides the power.

United States GE Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney (RTX), CFM International (with Safran) Europe Safran, Rolls-Royce
Bill of materials
  • Fan blades and case: carbon-fibre composite or carbon-titanium blades; composite casing not published
  • Compressor: titanium front stages, nickel alloy rear stages not published
  • Combustor and high-pressure turbine: single-crystal nickel superalloy blades with cooling holes and thermal barrier coatings; ceramic matrix composite shrouds not published
  • Fan drive gearbox (geared designs only): high-strength steel gears; over 50 MW in UltraFan not published
Airframe (wing, fuselage, systems)1112181920

Turns thrust into lift and forward motion; drag sets the thrust needed.

Europe Airbus, ATR United States Boeing China COMAC Rest of world Embraer (Brazil)
Bill of materials
  • Wings and fuselage: aluminium alloys or carbon-fibre composites not published

Turboprop and turboshaft propulsion

Turboprop engine and propeller1217

Gas turbine driving a propeller through a reduction gearbox.

Rest of world Pratt & Whitney Canada (RTX, Canada)
Bill of materials
  • Reduction gearbox: steel gears reducing turbine speed to propeller speed not published
  • Propeller: composite blades not published
Helicopter turboshaft and main rotor gearbox13

Delivers shaft power to the rotor.

Europe Safran Helicopter Engines
Bill of materials
  • Turbine and compressor: nickel superalloy hot section, titanium compressor not published

Sources

  1. Commercial Aircraft Propulsion and Energy Systems Research, chapter 2: Aircraft-Propulsion Integration and gas turbine engines National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2016
  2. French connection: Air France-KLM will use fuel-efficient LEAP engines GE Aerospace, 2022
  3. GTF engine: the most fuel-efficient engine for single-aisle aircraft Pratt & Whitney (RTX), 2026
  4. UltraFan demonstrator fact sheet Rolls-Royce, 2023
  5. Airbus reports 793 commercial aircraft deliveries in 2025 Airbus, 2026
  6. The most responsible regional aircraft by design ATR
  7. Safran Helicopter Engines: the world's leading manufacturer of helicopter engines Safran
  8. ATR powers its aircraft into a sustainable future with the new Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127XT engine ATR, 2021
  9. Boeing announces fourth-quarter deliveries Boeing, 2026
  10. Embraer reports 91 aircraft delivered in the fourth quarter and surpasses 4Q24 mark to meet 2025 guidance Embraer, 2026
  11. China's COMAC falls behind on C919 aircraft delivery targets, filings show (Reuters) The Standard (Reuters), 2025