Rolls-Royce 'better placed than ever' with new digital capabilities: Trent 1000 programme director
Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 Taskforce programme director Rachel Walker, speaking at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit - Airlines in Transition, stated (23-Apr-2026) the company is "better placed than ever" due to improved digital capabilities that deliver "a wealth of service inspection data" from engines. Ms Walker said: "We're able to build all of that new learning, all of that new knowledge into new technology development programmes". She also noted that the introduction of the first phase of durability enhancements on the Trent 7000 from 2022 delivered "a wealth of data, knowledge and in service information" to support the Trent 1000.
Background ✨
Rolls-Royce’s Trent 1000 durability push accelerated through 2025-2026, with the phase two high pressure turbine blade certified and scheduled for incorporation into new production from Feb-2026 and into the in-service fleet from Apr-2026, while the remainder of the phase two package was due in 2H20261. Rolls-Royce also outlined plans to transition the Trent 1000 TEN fleet to the XE standard by end-2027 and expanded MRO capacity in Germany, Singapore and the UK to support upgrades2.