The presence of Rolls-Royce in the Middle East is on display at the Dubai Air Show. Around 1,500 Rolls-Royce aero engines are in service with airlines and armed forces in the region and many of the engines involved in the company's present and future programs are represented on the company's display.
Within the Civil Aerospace sector, more than 400 Rolls-Royce Trent and RB211 engines are in operation or on order with Middle East operators and a growing number are backed up by the company's range of customer services.
The Trent family of engines is one of the foundations of the company's Middle East presence, with 80 percent of all Airbus A330 departures from the region being powered by the Trent 700. Recent Trent 700 selections by EgyptAir and Yemenia confirm it is the engine of choice within the region.
Emirates, which operates the largest fleet of A330s in the world, continues its commitment to Trent power with the launch on December 1 of its new luxury service to Australia with Trent 500 powered A340-500s. The Trent 500 is the sole powerplant for the A340-500 and –600.
Rolls-Royce has a major defense presence in the region, supporting nearly 1,000 engines operating with several armed forces. These have accumulated well over one million flying hours.
The Royal Saudi Air Force operates a major fleet of RB199-powered Tornado combat aircraft, provided under two stages of the Al-Yamamah government-to-government trade deal with the UK. It also operates one of the biggest C130 fleets in the world, powered by the Rolls-Royce T56.
Adour engines, powering both Jaguar combat aircraft and Hawk trainers, are in service with several air forces including Oman, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Turboshaft engines are also represented in the shape of the class-leading RTM322 turboshaft and the Light Helicopter Turbine Engine Company (LHTEC) T800 engine.
Rolls-Royce engines are used for power generation and oil and gas operations in nine countries in the Middle East. In Saudi Arabia, a major customer is Saudi Aramco, the largest fully integrated oil company in the world. The company uses six Olympus engines on offshore platforms and 22 industrial gas turbines on Aramco's East West pipeline which cross the Arabian peninsula. A large number of Olympus and Avon gas turbines are also used in power generating installations around the Kingdom.
Rolls-Royce operates in four global markets - civil aerospace, defense aerospace, marine and energy. It is investing in technology and capability that can be exploited in each of these sectors to create a competitive range of products. Engine deliveries have grown and the company now has a total of 54,000 gas turbines in service worldwide. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
