Geared Turbofan Combustor Patent Landscape 2026
RTX Corp (via its United Technologies lineage) dominates this 178-family corpus with commanding concentration among the top hundred filers, while annual filing volume has eased markedly from its 2019 peak, signalling a maturing, consolidating field. Gas-turbine plant fundamentals (F02C) anchor the technology mix, and meaningful adjacent coverage in gearing, pumping, and airframe integration remains comparatively sparse.
RTX Corp leads a highly concentrated field with limited credible challengers
RTX Corp stands at the top of the applicant ranking with 373 patent records, followed by United Technologies Corp with 159 patent records — both entities representing the same corporate lineage. MTU Aero Engines and Rolls-Royce plc each hold 24 patent records, placing them in a distant but established second tier.
The top five filers collectively account for 93% of the combined total across the hundred largest filers, a concentration level that leaves little ambiguity about who controls the foundational IP. The gap between the top entity and the third-ranked filer is roughly 15-fold, indicating a steep hierarchy with no near-term challenger poised to close that distance.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RTX Corporation | 373 | |
| 2 | United Technologies Corporation | 159 | |
| 3 | MTU Aero Engines GmbH | 24 | |
| 4 | Rolls-Royce plc | 24 | |
| 5 | Florida Turbine Technologies Inc | 9 | |
| 6 | The Boeing Company | 8 | |
| 7 | ROLLS ROYCE DEUT LTD & CO KG | 7 | |
| 8 | GKN Aerospace Sweden AB | 6 | |
| 9 | Rolls-Royce Corporation | 5 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | TOPOL DAVID A | 3 | |
| 11 | CLOFT THOMAS G | 3 | |
| 12 | POTTER GLEN E | 3 | |
| 13 | Rolls-Royce North American Technologies Inc | 3 | |
| 14 | GUKEISEN ROBERT L | 3 | |
| 15 | THOMAS FLAVIEN L | 3 | |
| 16 | Raytheon Technologies Corporation | 1 | |
| 17 | PRATT & WHITNEY | 1 | |
| 18 | MTU Aero Engines AG | 1 |
RTX’s dominance means that any new entrant or second-tier player will likely encounter significant freedom-to-operate constraints in core combustor-gearbox integration areas, making licensing or design-around strategies highly relevant for R&D planning.
Patent records from the most recent 18–24 months are subject to publication lag and will likely increase as filings are processed; interpret the 2024–2026 data points with that in mind. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Filings peaked in 2019 and have eased; gas-turbine plant fundamentals dominate the IPC mix
The annual filing trend reveals a field that built activity through the mid-to-late 2010s before contracting; the technology composition chart shows where those filings cluster across IPC classes and where relative gaps remain.
Annual filing trend
Annual filings climbed from 25 records in 2017 to a peak of 42 in 2019, then fell steadily to single digits from 2022 onward. The 2023–2026 bars should be read as provisional given publication lag; the underlying trend is nonetheless consistent with a field past its primary build-out phase.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
F02C (gas-turbine plants) dominates with 598 records, followed by F02K (jet and reaction propulsion) at 319 and F01D (turbines and non-positive engines) at 315. Gearing (F16H, 73 records), pumping (F04D, 62 records), and airframe integration (B64D, 36 records) are present but occupy comparatively smaller shares, pointing to the areas with relatively less coverage relative to the core propulsion classes.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaHighly cited patent families surfaced by the query
Citation-heavy patent families returned by the query. Use this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents.
A gas turbine engine comprising a fuel purging sys…
A gas turbine engine 10 comprises a compressor 15, a combustion chamber 16, a fuel system 50 and a fuel purging system 60. The fuel system comprises a fuel injector 52, an associated fuel delivery pipe 54 and a fuel manifold 56 which supplies fuel to the fuel injector through the associated fuel delivery pipe. The fuel purging system comprises a compressed… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Geartrain coupling for a turbofan engine | 484 |
| 2 | Deicing of a geared gas turbine engine | 246 |
| 3 | Gas turbine engine with geared turbofan and oil th… | 167 |
| 4 | Turbofan engine comprising an spicyclic transmissi… | 106 |
| 5 | Geared turbofan gas turbine engine architecture | 74 |
| 6 | Geared turbofan engine gearbox arrangement | 74 |
| 7 | Geared turbofan arrangement with core split power … | 45 |
| 8 | Oil bypass channel deaerator for a geared turbofan… | 44 |
Ranked by total forward citations. Citation counts favour older and broadly cited patent families, and broad or adjacent patents may appear when they match the search scope. Treat this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents. Some patent titles may be shown in their original, non-English language where an accurate translation could not be guaranteed.
What the competitive structure means for R&D investment decisions
The combination of high concentration, a post-peak filing curve, and sparse adjacent branches shapes where new R&D effort is likely to find room and where it will face the heaviest IP thicket.
Field is in decline phase following a 2019 peak
Annual filing volume has eased markedly from the 2019 peak of 42 records, and the multi-year recent-window growth rate is –77%. This lifecycle position suggests that foundational architecture patents are largely established, and incremental improvement or system-integration filings now predominate. New entrants should assess whether remaining white space justifies patent prosecution costs versus licensing existing portfolios.
Post-peak · DeclineTop five filers hold 93% of the hundred largest filers’ combined records
The 93% share held by the top five among the hundred largest filers is unusually high even for an aerospace sub-field. The tier gap between RTX/United Technologies and everyone else is steep: MTU Aero Engines and Rolls-Royce plc at 24 records each are the closest credible challengers, yet remain a fraction of the leader’s position. This concentration limits design freedom in core combustor-gear integration and raises freedom-to-operate risk for new development programs.
Highly concentratedUnited Technologies–MTU Aero Engines is the dominant co-filing pair
The most active co-applicant relationship is between United Technologies Corp and MTU Aero Engines, with 18 jointly filed records — reflecting the PW1000G engine partnership. Rolls-Royce plc and Rolls-Royce Corp co-filed 5 records, while Raytheon Technologies and MTU Aero Engines jointly filed 4. The United Technologies–MTU Aero Engines AG pairing adds one further record. These dyads suggest that technology transfer and joint development within established engine programs, rather than broad open collaboration, characterise the ecosystem.
Partnership-drivenUnited States and EPO filings account for the majority of jurisdictional coverage
The United States leads jurisdictional filings with 256 records, closely followed by the EPO at 238. WIPO PCT filings stand at 42 and Canada at 40, reflecting the North American and European manufacturing bases of the principal assignees. Coverage in Asia is minimal — Japan holds just 1 record — which may indicate a deliberate strategic choice or an area where regional competitors could emerge without immediately confronting the RTX portfolio.
US + Europe dominantGo beyond the landscape: Eureka’s TRIZ Solution agent breaks down an R&D problem and returns patented concept solutions, each with a technical approach and cited patent & literature evidence.
| Applicant | Collaborator | Co-filings |
|---|---|---|
| United Technologies Corporation | MTU Aero Engines AG | 18 |
| Rolls-Royce plc | Rolls-Royce Corporation | 5 |
| Raytheon Technologies Corporation | MTU Aero Engines AG | 4 |
| United Technologies Corporation | MTU Aero Engines AG | 1 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
RTX Corp anchors the field; MTU Aero Engines and Boeing emerge as new entrants in recent filings
Two corporate entities — RTX Corp and its predecessor United Technologies Corp — together account for the overwhelming majority of the corpus. Second-tier players show divergent momentum, with some declining and others entering the space for the first time.
RTX Corp
RTX Corp holds 373 patent records, the largest position in the corpus by a wide margin. Its technology emphasis is anchored in F02C 7 (gas-turbine plant accessories and combustors), F02C 3 (continuous-combustion gas-turbine cycles), and F02K 3 (turbofan and turboprop propulsion). Raytheon Technologies (the intermediate corporate identity) shows a recent-period trend of –27% versus the prior three years, consistent with the overall post-peak field dynamic.
patent records: 373MTU Aero Engines GmbH
MTU Aero Engines holds 24 patent records, placing it joint-third in the ranking alongside Rolls-Royce plc. Its focus spans F02C 7, F02K 3, and F02C 3 — closely mirroring the dominant players’ core propulsion classes. Notably, MTU Aero Engines is flagged as a new entrant in the most recent filing window, suggesting renewed activity that may reflect ongoing geared-turbofan development partnerships.
patent records: 24| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Raytheon Technologies Corporation | 19 | ▼ -27% |
| MTU Aero Engines AG | 4 | ▲ new entrant |
| The Boeing Company | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
Gearing integration and airframe installation are under-served relative to core propulsion classes
Several IPC branches adjacent to the dominant F02C/F02K/F01D core carry meaningfully fewer records relative to their technical relevance, suggesting areas where incremental filing could differentiate a portfolio without immediately confronting the densest part of the RTX thicket.
F16H · Gearing & transmissions
With 73 patent records and a 5% share of the corpus, gearing and transmission technology is the largest adjacent branch but remains sparse relative to the propulsion core. The epicyclic gearbox is a defining feature of the geared turbofan architecture, and detailed gear-system patents — covering load sharing, lubrication paths, and torque-split optimisation — appear underrepresented. A team with gear-system expertise could pursue differentiated IP in this space, particularly around high-power-density planetary arrangements suited to next-generation thrust levels, provided freedom-to-operate analysis confirms adequate room around existing RTX and MTU filings.
Search this in Eureka →B63H · Marine propulsion & steering
Twelve patent records appear under B63H, a surprising adjacency that may reflect cross-filing of gas-turbine technology adapted for marine drive applications. This branch is sparse (12 records, roughly 1% of records) and sits at the periphery of the corpus, but for organisations exploring gas-turbine propulsion in naval or offshore power contexts, it represents an area with low existing patent density. Entry would require establishing genuine technical differentiation from the aero-derivative configurations already covered, and the small record count means the competitive picture here is still developing.
Search this in Eureka →How leaders differ by technology route across propulsion, gearing, and airframe classes
Route coverage across the main technology branches in the current evidence set.
| Player | F02C 7 · Gas-turbine plants | F02K 3 · Jet & reaction propulsion | F02C 3 · Gas-turbine plants | F01D 25 · Turbines & non-positive engines | F01D 5 · Turbines & non-positive engines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Technologies Corporation | Strong · 445 | Strong · 244 | Strong · 244 | Moderate · 157 | Emerging · 77 |
| Raytheon Technologies Corporation | Strong · 84 | Strong · 45 | Strong · 50 | Moderate · 21 | Emerging · 14 |
| MTU Aero Engines AG | Strong · 21 | Strong · 17 | Strong · 14 | Moderate · 5 | Strong · 13 |
| Rolls-Royce plc | Strong · 24 | Emerging · 4 | Emerging · 2 | Moderate · 11 | Absent |
| Florida Turbine Technologies Inc | Strong · 9 | Strong · 6 | Strong · 5 | Moderate · 2 | Absent |
| The Boeing Company | Strong · 8 | Moderate · 4 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Rolls-Royce Deutschland Ltd & Co KG | Strong · 7 | Moderate · 3 | Moderate · 2 | Absent | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus contains 178 patent families in scope. Patent records across jurisdictions and IPC classes exceed this total because a single family can be filed in multiple offices and classified under multiple codes.
RTX Corp leads with 373 patent records, followed by United Technologies Corp with 159 patent records — both representing the same corporate lineage. MTU Aero Engines GmbH and Rolls-Royce plc are joint-third at 24 patent records each.
No. Annual filing volume peaked at 42 records in 2019 and has eased significantly since, reaching single digits from 2022 onward. The lifecycle assessment classifies this field in a decline phase. The most recent bars (2023–2026) are subject to publication lag and will likely revise upward, but the broad post-peak trend is well established.
The United States leads with 256 patent records, closely followed by the EPO at 238. WIPO PCT filings stand at 42 and Canada at 40. Asian coverage is minimal, with Japan registering just 1 record.
The most active co-applicant pair is United Technologies Corp and MTU Aero Engines, with 18 jointly filed records, reflecting the PW1000G engine partnership. Rolls-Royce plc and Rolls-Royce Corp co-filed 5 records, and Raytheon Technologies and MTU Aero Engines co-filed 4 records.
The IPC branches F16H (gearing and transmissions, 73 records), F04D (non-positive-displacement pumps, 62 records), B64D (aircraft equipment, 36 records), B64C (aeroplanes and helicopters, 16 records), and B63H (marine propulsion, 12 records) are adjacent to the dominant core but carry comparatively fewer records. These should be assessed for freedom-to-operate alongside genuine technical differentiation potential before committing to a filing strategy.
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from PatSnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
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