Turbofan Engine Digital Twin Patent Landscape 2026
The turbofan engine digital twin space is highly concentrated, with RTX Corp and a handful of incumbent propulsion OEMs controlling the dominant share of filings, anchored in turbine mechanics and control-systems IP. The field is still expanding on a multi-year basis, with a 250% rise in recent-window filings, though annual volume has eased from its 2023 peak and the most recent years carry additional undercount from publication lag.
RTX Corp leads a tightly held, OEM-dominated field
RTX Corp holds the top position with 19 patent records, followed by Honeywell International with 10 and Rolls-Royce North American Technologies with 7, establishing a clear three-tier separation from the rest of the ranking.
The top five filers account for 70% of the combined total across the hundred largest filers, indicating a strongly concentrated competitive structure where a small group of established aerospace OEMs and systems integrators define the IP frontier.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RTX Corp | 19 | |
| 2 | Honeywell International Inc | 10 | |
| 3 | Rolls-Royce North American Technologies Inc | 7 | |
| 4 | General Electric Co | 6 | |
| 5 | United Technologies Corp | 6 | |
| 6 | Rolls-Royce PLC | 4 | |
| 7 | Meggitt SA | 4 | |
| 8 | Rolls-Royce Corp | 2 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Harbin Institute of Technology | 2 | |
| 10 | NANJING UNIV OF AERONAUTICS & ASTRONAUTICS | 2 | |
| 11 | Dassault Systemes Americas Corp | 2 | |
| 12 | University of South Carolina | 1 | |
| 13 | Qingdao University of Technology | 1 | |
| 14 | Northwestern Polytechnical University | 1 | |
| 15 | Pandit Deendayal Energy University | 1 | |
| 16 | Beihang University | 1 |
This concentration suggests that any new entrant faces a well-fortified incumbent position in core turbine monitoring and control IP; differentiation likely requires moving into adjacent technical branches rather than directly challenging the dominant classes.
The most recent 18–24 months of filing data should be treated as incomplete due to patent publication lag; observed filing volumes for 2024–2026 will increase as pending applications publish. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
A 2023 surge anchors multi-year growth; technology mix centers on turbine mechanics and control
Annual filing data reveals a sharp acceleration starting in 2023, while the technology composition shows the field is dominated by turbine-specific and control-systems IP, with data-processing and AI branches remaining materially smaller.
Annual filing trend
Filings were modest and relatively flat from 2017 through 2022, then surged to a peak in 2023 before easing. The 2024 and 2025 figures will grow as pending applications clear examination; 2026 data is not yet meaningful. The multi-year recent window is up 250% versus the prior window, confirming genuine expansion rather than noise.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
F01D (Turbines and non-positive displacement engines) and G05B (Control and regulating systems) are the dominant branches, reflecting a field primarily concerned with real-time turbine state monitoring and closed-loop control. F02C (Gas-turbine plants) ranks third. Notably thinner branches include G06F (digital data processing), G06N (AI models), and G01N (material analysis), pointing to adjacent areas that remain comparatively sparse.
↗ 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.
Predicting Turbofan Engine Properties
Embodiments determine physical properties of turbofan engines. An embodiment, in memory, obtains: (i) a computer-aided design (CAD) model representing a turbofan engine and (ii) an indication of flow conditions. In turn, a solver input file is automatically determined based on the CAD model and the indication of flow conditions. Responsively, a simulation… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Methods and systems for turbine line replaceable u… | 22 |
| 2 | Engine wireless sensor system with energy harvesting | 15 |
| 3 | Wireless sensor for an aircraft propulsion system | 13 |
| 4 | 飞机涡扇发动机的剩余使用寿命预测方法及系统 | 9 |
| 5 | Bleed air compensated continuous power assurance a… | 9 |
| 6 | Methods and systems for turbine line replaceable u… | 9 |
| 7 | Method for health monitoring and gas turbine engine | 7 |
| 8 | Method to control electric starter generator for g… | 7 |
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 prioritization
Four structural dimensions — maturity stage, filer concentration, collaboration patterns, and geographic distribution — collectively shape where investment can create differentiated IP positions.
Growth stage, past its 2023 filing peak
The field sits in a Growth lifecycle stage: recent three-year filings sit well above the prior three-year window, confirming multi-year expansion. However, annual volume has eased from its 2023 peak, suggesting the initial wave of foundational IP filings may be settling while the underlying technology continues to develop. New entrants should expect established claim frameworks in core turbine health-monitoring and control classes.
Growth stageTop five filers hold 70% share among the top 100
The top five filers — RTX Corp, Honeywell International, Rolls-Royce North American Technologies, General Electric, and United Tech Corp — collectively account for 70% of the combined filing volume across the hundred largest filers. This tier gap is substantial and reflects the deep incumbent advantage held by established propulsion OEMs. Challengers such as Meggitt SA and Dassault Systems Americas have entered recently but at significantly smaller scales.
High concentrationRolls-Royce entities are the only identified co-filers
The evidence identifies one co-filing relationship: Rolls-Royce North American Technologies and Rolls-Royce Corp, with two jointly filed records. This is an intra-corporate collaboration rather than a cross-industry partnership. No cross-company or university–industry co-filing relationships appear in the evidence, suggesting the field has not yet developed the open collaborative structures seen in earlier-stage deep-tech domains.
Limited collaborationEurope (EPO) leads; US is a strong secondary jurisdiction
Europe via the EPO is the leading filing jurisdiction, followed by the United States, with China and WIPO (PCT) as secondary routes. Canada and Germany show smaller but notable presence. The European lead aligns with the strong filing activity of Rolls-Royce entities and Meggitt, while US dominance reflects RTX Corp and Honeywell. Chinese filings come primarily from academic institutions, pointing to an emerging research base rather than a commercial IP bloc.
EPO-ledGo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Rolls-Royce North American Technologies Inc | Rolls-Royce Corp | 2 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
RTX Corp dominates turbine health monitoring; Rolls-Royce North American Technologies focuses on control and gas-turbine plant IP
Two clear leaders emerge from the ranking, separated by technology emphasis and recent trajectory. RTX Corp entered as a new entrant in the recent window and now holds the largest single-filer position, while Rolls-Royce North American Technologies concentrates on control-systems and gas-turbine plant regulation.
RTX Corp
RTX Corp leads with 19 patent records, concentrated in F01D turbine mechanics and structural monitoring (F01D 21, F01D 25) and G01M testing and machine structure balance. Its momentum is marked as a new entrant in the recent window, meaning its entire visible portfolio has been filed recently — a rapid consolidation of foundational turbine-state digital-twin IP that now places it ahead of all peers.
patent records: 19Rolls-Royce North American Technologies
Rolls-Royce North American Technologies holds 7 patent records, with its strongest emphasis on G05B 23 (control and regulating systems), H05B 44 (electric heating and lighting circuits — likely related to sensor and thermal management integration), and F02C 9 (gas-turbine plant control). It collaborates intra-group with Rolls-Royce Corp, which adds 2 further records to the broader Rolls-Royce cluster.
patent records: 7| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| RTX Corp | 10 | ▲ new entrant |
| Rolls-Royce PLC | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
| Meggitt SA | 4 | ▲ new entrant |
| Dassault Systemes Americas Corp | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
| Harbin Institute of Technology | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served branches adjacent to the dominant cluster
Several IPC branches appear at materially lower filing counts than the dominant F01D/G05B/F02C cluster. These are observations of relative sparsity; where a branch also has plausible technical value and a realistic entry path, that context is noted.
G06N · AI and Machine-Learning Models
With only 4 patent records tagged to G06N, AI-model-driven digital twin inference — covering neural-network-based degradation prediction, physics-informed machine learning, and reinforcement-learning control policies — is comparatively sparse relative to the classical control and turbine-mechanics branches. Harbin Institute of Technology and Dassault Systems Americas are the only filers showing G06N co-assignments, suggesting academic and simulation-software entry paths are open. An R&D team with strength in physics-informed ML applied to turbomachinery could build differentiated IP here with limited direct incumbent overlap.
Search this in Eureka →G01N · Material Analysis and Testing
G01N (material analysis and testing) carries only 6 patent records in this corpus, representing roughly 3% of the branch-level distribution. Digital twin applications that model material degradation, fatigue crack propagation, or thermal barrier coating performance at the microstructural level sit here, and no single dominant filer has staked out clear territory in this sub-space. The technical value is significant — remaining useful life prediction tied to material state is a high-value maintenance outcome — though entry requires cross-disciplinary expertise in materials characterization and real-time sensing.
Search this in Eureka →Frequently asked questions
The analysis covers 41 patent families in scope globally. This is a relatively small and specialized corpus, reflecting the nascent but rapidly growing nature of the field.
RTX Corp is the leading filer with 19 patent records, more than the next two filers — Honeywell International (10) and Rolls-Royce North American Technologies (7) — combined. RTX Corp entered as a new entrant in the most recent filing window.
Europe via the EPO is the leading jurisdiction with 30 patent records, followed by the United States with 21. China and WIPO (PCT) are secondary filing routes, with Chinese filings driven primarily by academic institutions.
Yes, on a multi-year basis. The recent three-year filing window is up 250% versus the prior three-year window, placing the field in a Growth lifecycle stage. Annual volume peaked in 2023 and has eased since, though 2024 and 2025 figures are understated due to publication lag.
F01D (turbines and non-positive displacement engines), G05B (control and regulating systems), and F02C (gas-turbine plants) are the three dominant IPC branches, together accounting for the large majority of patent-record co-assignments. These reflect a field centered on real-time turbine state monitoring and closed-loop engine control.
Collaboration is limited. The only co-filing relationship in the evidence is between Rolls-Royce North American Technologies and Rolls-Royce Corp, which jointly filed 2 records — an intra-corporate arrangement. No cross-company or university–industry co-filing relationships appear in the evidence.
Built on Patsnap Open Platform
This report’s underlying patent dataset — filings, assignees, technology clusters — is open for developers via MCP and REST API. Free to start, 10,000 credits, no credit card required.
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.
Nothing on this page constitutes an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate, or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial, investment, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Any patent, commercial, or strategic decision should be verified independently and reviewed with qualified patent, legal, and domain professionals. Patsnap makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the information presented.