Leeham News and Analysis
There's more to real news than a news release.
Collins Aerospace continues R&D on electrical options despite industry pullback
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By Scott Hamilton
Aug. 11, 2025, © Leeham News: At the Annual General Meeting of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in October 2021, a detailed green aviation plan was adopted to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The ambitious program included milestones in the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and other alternative fuels. The policy was part of a greater industry effort to develop battery, hydrogen, and hybrid-powered aircraft and eVTOLs.
Some 300 companies were founded to pursue these various objectives, and many global airlines adopted environmental goals. Some placed conditional orders for eVTOLS or hybrid aircraft.
Boeing focused on SAF development while Airbus pursued hydrogen-powered concepts. GE, Safran, Pratt & Whitney, Pratt & Whitney Canada (PWC), and Rolls-Royce each have or continue to research hybrid or new engine opportunities.
Todd Spierling of Collins Aerospace. Credit: Collins Aerospace.
Plenty of skepticism about reaching the Net Zero goal emerged even at the 2021 IATA AGM. Tim Clark, president of Emirates Airline, famously cautioned, Don’t make promises you can’t keep.
Since then, Airbus abandoned its hydrogen goal. Several airlines abandoned their net-zero goals. Most of the 300 start-up companies failed, notably Lilium, which went through an astonishing $1bn before collapsing into insolvency.
One company that acknowledged the idea that aircraft can be powered by batteries alone is Collins Aerospace, a unit of RTX Corp. In an interview with LNA before the Paris Air Show, Todd Spierling, a principal technical fellow, was clear.
“We’ve been working a lot with Pratt and Whitney on electrification and what it means,” Spierling said. “One of the things we found was if you just trade out fuel for batteries, it doesn’t work out.”
Collins Aerospace pacing for new materials, production for next new airplane
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By Scott Hamilton
Aug. 4, 2025, © Leeham News: As the aviation industry considers what new major airliners to develop for the next 50 years, new engines, folding wings, advanced materials, and new design and production processes will also be key.
Collins Aerospace, a unit of RTX Corp., is deep into research and development of advanced structures.
This portion of Collins’ antecedents is Hamilton-Sundstrand and B. F. Goodrich Aerospace. Each was acquired by United Technologies, the forerunner of today’s RTX.
Collins has three basic lines of business: aerostructures, landing systems, and propeller and cockpit controls.
Going back to Jim McNerney, the CEO of The Boeing Co. from 2005-2015, the company said repeatedly that its next new airplane will be as much, or more, about production than it will be about the aircraft.
A new materials airplane based on composites or thermoplastics or a similar material to replace the ubiquitous 737 needs a production rate of 60-80 a month, or even more. This can’t be achieved with an autoclave process. Boeing and NASA, the US space agency, are studying new materials processes aimed at this rate.
Airbus is conducting similar studies in Europe with EU companies.
Airbus is openly talking about launching a new airplane program in 2030 to replace the A320 beginning in 2038. Boeing is quietly understood to be operating on a similar timeline for a new program that may be aimed at a New Midmarket Airplane (NMA) category airplane.
The underlying question, then, is whether these new processes will be ready by the time Airbus and Boeing want to launch an airplane program.
RTX Q2 2025 Earnings: Tariff Relief, GTF Stabilization, Strong Demand, and FAA Tailwinds Lift Outlook
By Chris Sloan
July 22, 2025, © Leeham News: RTX delivered strong second-quarter results, supported by continued momentum in the commercial aerospace sector, stabilization in its geared turbofan program, and a significant aftermarket ramp across Pratt & Whitney and Collins Aerospace.
Executives highlighted improving supply chain conditions and growing demand as key contributors, while also noting upcoming FAA modernization investments as a long-term opportunity. Despite ongoing trade friction and a sizeable tariff burden, RTX raised its full-year sales outlook and reaffirmed its free cash flow guidance. Executives said recent developments on the tariff front—including favorable exemptions and successful mitigation strategies—helped soften the impact and improve visibility heading into the second half.
“Our outlook on the impact of tariffs has improved for the year,” said RTX President and Chief Executive Christopher Calio. The company originally expected a $850m tariff headwind in 2025 but has since lowered that figure to $500m. Calio attributed half of the reduction to external developments such as the paused implementation of new rates and the UK’s decision to exempt aerospace components. The remainder, he said, came from the company’s mitigation actions, including optimizing material flows through its supply chain, taking pricing actions where possible, and leveraging trade agreements such as USMCA.
RTX has already incurred approximately $125m in tariff costs through the first half of the year, with the remaining $375m expected in the second half. Of that, $275m is expected to impact Collins Aerospace, and $225m will affect Pratt & Whitney. CFO Neil Mitchill Jr. said roughly $60m and $40m in costs have already been recorded at Collins and Pratt, respectively, during Q2. The total cash impact is expected to reach $600m for the year.
Day One at Paris: Airbus lands record IndiGo deal for 500 A320s
By Bryan Corliss
Monday, June 19, 2023, © Leeham News – Airbus landed a huge but widely expected order for 500 A320s from Indian carrier IndiGo, as the 2023 Paris Air Show got underway Monday.
Analysts had issued pre-show forecasts that orders for as many as 3,000 jets will be announced this week at Le Bourget, as airlines place big bets on a continuing industry recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic worldwide.
Despite the lofty projections, the show got off to a slow start, with only a handful of minor announcements until IndiGo’s big splash late in the Paris afternoon.
- IndiGo has nearly 1,000 Airbus jets on order
- Airbus snags A350 order; could add more
- Boeing announces pilot training deal
- De Havilland Canada plans upgraded Twin Otter
UPDATE: Raytheon reports 10% sales growth and record backlog
By Bryan Corliss
April 25, 2023, © Leeham News – Raytheon reported a 10% increase in first-quarter sales and a record backlog of $180 billion in orders, amid what Chairman and CEO Greg Hayes called “continued global airline travel and defense systems demand.”
Among its commercial aircraft segments, Collins Aerospace had first-quarter sales of nearly $5.6 billion, up 16%. That was driven by a 24% increase in commercial aftermarket sales and a 12% increase in commercial original equipment sales.
Collins’ operating profit was up 80% from the first quarter of 2022, Raytheon said.
Meanwhile, Pratt & Whitney had first-quarter sales of $5.2 billion, up 15%, with a 27% increase in original equipment orders and a 14% increase in commercial aftermarket sales.
Pratt& Whitney’s first quarter profit of $415 million was up 175% compared to the first quarter of 2022.
- ‘Constant contact’ with OEMs on rates
- Parts of supply chain stabilizing, COO says
- Commercial aircraft sales lead growth
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GE, Raytheon report orders surges, but labor and supply chain headwinds
By Bryan Corliss
Jan. 24, 2023, © Leeham News – Aerospace suppliers GE and Raytheon both reported fourth-quarter sales surges, as the commercial aviation industry continued its recovery from the worst of the Covid pandemic.
Both companies also project strong sales growth in 2023, but warned investors that there are lingering supply chain issues and labor shortages that could hold them back.
“While we are broadly beginning to see our supply chain improve, it is not yet at the levels we need,” Raytheon CFO Chris Calio told stock analysts during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call on Tuesday. “We are assuming a recovery as we move into the back half of the year.”
- GE reports backlog near 10,000 for LEAP
- Raytheon expects double-digit growth for Collins, P&W
- Supply chain improving, but still tangled
- Raytheon talks about Boeing, Airbus rates
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MTU gets support from Pratt & Whitney to develop the WET engine
By Bjorn Fehrm
November 29, 2022, © Leeham News: MTU and Pratt & Whitney presented an EU Clean Sky project today where they will develop an advanced engine concept based on the Pratt & Whitney GTF. The project is called SWITCH, an acronym for Sustainable Water-Injecting Turbofan Comprising Hybrid-Electrics.
There are participants from 11 countries in the project, among them Pratt & Whitney’s sister company Collins aerospace, GKN’s Swedish part, and Airbus.
The engine, which has a mild parallel hybrid architecture, extracts more energy from the turbofan fuel by driving the core exhaust through a vaporizer, where it recovers more heat from the core exhaust, Figure 1. Water from the exhaust, extracted from the core exhaust in a condenser, is heated to steam by the vaporizer and then drives a steam turbine that co-drives the fan. The steam is finally injected into the combustor to lower emissions.
The WET cycle will gain about 10% efficiency compared to today’s GTF. The concept also has a hybrid part which is primarily used for a low-emission taxi.
P&W, Collins Aerospace launch hybrid-electric demonstrator
By Scott Hamilton
July 18, 2022 (BST), © Leeham News: Pratt & Whitney and sister company Collins Aerospace announced the launch of a hybrid-electric technology demonstrator, it was announced today at the Farnborough Air Show. This program is for future advanced air mobility vehicles.
Collins and Pratt & Whitney Canada, the turboprop engine unit, also announced the completion of the preliminary design of a 1MW motor for the demonstrator. A De Havilland Canada Dash 8-100 will be the platform for the commercial hybrid-electric application.
Bjorn’s Corner: Sustainable Air Transport. Part 9. Parallel Hybrids.
March 4, 2022, ©. Leeham News: This is a summary of the article Part 9P. Parallel Hybrid, the Deeper Discussion.
We look into the Pratt & Whitney, Collins Aerospace, and De Havilland project to create a Parallel Hybrid propulsion alternative for the Dash 8 turboprops.
The project “targets a 30% reduction in fuel burn and CO2 emissions, compared to a modern regional turboprop airliner” according to the Pratt & Whitney press release.
Figure 1. The Parallel Hybrid components of the project. Source: Pratt & Whitney video.
Bjorn’s Corner: Sustainable Air Transport. Part 9P. Parallel Hybrid. The deeper discussion.
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By Bjorn Fehrm
March 4, 2022, ©. Leeham News: This is a complementary article to Part 9. Parallel Hybrid. It uses Leeham Company’s Aircraft Performance Model from our consultancy practice to analyze the design of a Parallel Hybrid aircraft for regional operations.
Our design brief is to make turboprop upgrade packages for De Havilland DH8-200,-300, and-400 aircraft. By using a Parallel Hybrid we could “target a 30% reduction in fuel burn and CO2 emissions, compared to a modern regional turboprop airliner” according to Pratt & Whitney Canada. Time to check if we can reach these levels.