GTF FADEC Control Patent Snapshot 2026
The GTF FADEC Control patent space is highly concentrated, with RTX Corp and its predecessor United Technologies Corporation accounting for all ranked activity. The field peaked in 2021 and annual volume has since eased, placing it in a post-peak lifecycle stage with Europe (EPO) as the primary filing jurisdiction.
RTX Corp and United Technologies dominate a tightly held niche
RTX Corp leads all ranked applicants by patent records, followed closely by United Technologies Corporation (the corporate predecessor entity). These two organisations together account for the entirety of the top-ranked filers in this space.
The top five filers collectively hold 100% of the ranked applicants visible in this query’ combined total, confirming extreme concentration with no meaningful third-party presence in the rankings.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RTX Corp | 10 | |
| 2 | United Technologies Corporation | 8 |
This degree of consolidation — effectively a single corporate lineage following the RTX/United Technologies merger — signals that independent challengers have not established a visible patent footprint in this narrowly defined control technology, leaving the field as a proprietary enclave.
Patent publication typically lags filing by 18–24 months; activity in 2024–2026 should be treated as under-counted pending further publications. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
A brief 2020–2021 filing burst followed by a return to dormancy
The annual filing trend and technology composition together reveal a narrow, episodic innovation pattern concentrated in gas-turbine plant control, with virtually all activity attributable to a single corporate family.
Annual filing trend
Filings were absent through 2019, surged to a peak in 2021, then returned to zero in subsequent years. Given the standard 18–24-month publication lag, figures from 2024 onward remain under-counted and should not be read as a confirmed trend. The peak year of 2021 marks the high-water mark for this topic.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
The IPC branch mix is dominated by F02C (Gas-turbine plants), with secondary presence in F01D (Turbines and non-positive displacement engines) and F02K (Jet and reaction propulsion). This distribution reflects the systems-level nature of FADEC integration in geared turbofan architectures, where engine control touches combustion management, turbine mechanics, and propulsion performance simultaneously.
↗ 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.
Rotor brake and windmilling lubrication system for…
A journal bearing provides lubrication to planetary gears during windmilling operation of a fan section. A primary oil pump provides oil from an oil supply during driven operation of the fan and a secondary oil pump driven by a generator provides oil during windmilling operation of the fan. The generator acts as a dynamic brake when the aircraft is grounded… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rotor brake and windmilling lubrication system for… | 69 |
| 2 | Rotor brake and windmilling lubrication system for… | 44 |
| 3 | Geared turbofan gas turbine engine with reliabilit… | 29 |
| 4 | Geared turbofan gas turbine engine with reliabilit… | 6 |
| 5 | Rotor brake and windmilling lubrication system for… | 2 |
| 6 | Geared turbofan with over-speed protection | 1 |
| 7 | Geared turbofan with over-speed protection | 1 |
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.
Assignee snapshot from the current evidence set
The applicants below are visible in this query result. Because the evidence set is relatively small, read this section as a directional snapshot rather than a full competitive ranking.
RTX Corp
RTX Corp holds the leading position with 10 patent records in this topic. Its technology emphasis spans F02C 7 (Gas-turbine plant accessories and control), F02C 3 (Gas-turbine plants proper), and F02K 3 (Jet and reaction propulsion). No momentum data is available for the recent period, consistent with the post-peak filing pattern observed from 2022 onward.
10 patent recordsUnited Technologies Corporation
United Technologies Corporation is the predecessor entity to RTX Corp, holding 8 patent records. Its IPC emphasis aligns closely with RTX Corp — F02C 7 at the core, with additional coverage in F01D 21 and F01D 25 (turbine fault detection and mechanical structures). The filing activity attributed to this entity predates the corporate consolidation and should be read as part of the same continuous R&D programme.
8 patent recordsFrequently asked questions
The corpus contains 7 patent families in scope for GTF FADEC Control. This is a narrow, specialist topic rather than a broad technology category.
RTX Corp leads with 10 patent records, followed by United Technologies Corporation with 8 patent records. Both entities represent the same corporate lineage following RTX’s formation.
Europe (EPO) is the leading jurisdiction by patent records, followed by the United States, Singapore, and WIPO (PCT). The EPO-first pattern reflects the importance of European aviation manufacturing and MRO markets.
The field is in a Decline stage. Annual filings peaked in 2021 and have since eased to zero in subsequent recorded years, indicating that the foundational IP layer has been largely established.
F02C (Gas-turbine plants) is the visible branch. F01D (Turbines and non-positive displacement engines) and F02K (Jet and reaction propulsion) each hold secondary presence, reflecting the systems-level scope of FADEC integration.
No co-applicant activity has been detected in the available evidence. All filings appear to originate from sole applicants within the RTX/United Technologies corporate family, with named inventors McCune Michael E and Schwarz Frederick M appearing in the record.
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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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