Rolls-Royce is the world’s 23rd largest arms company, according to SIPRI. Founded in 1904 in Manchester, the company was initially a luxury car manufacturer before adding an aeronautical engineering portfolio in the early days of aviation.
The company synonymous with high-end luxury cars made revenues of US$ 7.2 billion from arms in 2024, about 31.6% of its total revenues. Rolls-Royce has three business segments: Civil Aerospace, Defence and Power Systems.
Among its defence offerings, its revenues are split fairly evenly between transport, combat and submarine vehicles with naval and helicopter revenues amounting to a combined 11%.
Rolls-Royce produces military aircraft engines, naval engines, power supplies for military vehicles, and cores for nuclear submarines. Rolls-Royce reports that it has military aircraft engines in service with 160 customers in 103 countries. On the civil side, it produces engines for aircraft and ships and a variety of other power systems.
Rolls-Royce has offices and manufacturing sites in the UK, including at its headquarters in London. It also has offices in Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, South Korea, Turkey, the UAE, and the US. It employs 50,000 people across 40 countries.
Aerospace
Rolls-Royce provides engines for a range of well-known military aircraft. These include the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress subsonic heavy bomber, which uses Rolls-Royce F-130 engines, and the multi-company Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet. The UK’s fleet of Typhoons use the company’s EJ200 engine. In October 2025, the UK government announced that Turkey had committed to acquiring 20 Typhoon jets for UK£ 8 billion; some components for these would be produced at a Rolls-Royce site in Bristol. Rolls-Royce also provides the engines for the Boeing MQ-25 Stingray, an American unmanned re-fueling craft. In 2024, media reporting on the production of the first T-625 GÖKBEY Light Utility Helicopters produced by Turkish defence company TAI noted that Rolls-Royce provided the vehicles’ engines in a joint venture with Honeywell.
Rolls-Royce is a member of various consortia to develop next-generation fighter aircraft. Among these is the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), a project between the United Kingdom, Japan, and Italy. The company is also involved in the Team Tempest fighter jet programme alongside Leonardo, BAE Systems and MBDA. Rolls-Royce is working on the aircrafts’ propulsion systems, thermal management, and integrated power management systems. The RAF intends for Tempest aircraft to eventually replace the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets. In the US, Rolls-Royce will deliver a propulsion solution for new tiltrotor aircraft under the US Army Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) programme.
Land vehicles
Rolls-Royce provides engines to a range of military land vehicles, notably its mtu 199 series of engines. These include the German-made Leopard 2 battle tanks used by various European armies. Mtu 199 engines are used by the UK military in its Boxer Mechanised Infantry Vehicle (MIV).
Naval craft and nuclear submarines
Rolls-Royce provides engines and power solutions for naval craft. These include MT30 marine gas turbine engines for South Korean and Canadian navy frigates.
Rolls-Royce provides and supports then nuclear reactors that power the UK Royal Navy’s fleet of submarines. These are produced at its facility at Rolls-Royce Raynesway (Derby). With BAE Systems and Babcock, Rolls-Royce is a critical member of the UK’s Submarine Enterprise Performance Programme (SEPP). This will support the roll out of the Royal Navy’s new Dreadnought nuclear-armed submarines, due to be operational in the 2030s.
In 2025, the company was awarded its “largest ever” MoD contract for this service. In March 2023, it was confirmed that Rolls-Royce submarines would provide nuclear reactor plants to power new attack submarines as part of the Australia, the UK and USA trilateral AUKUS agreement. Also that year, Rolls-Royce won a submarines contract worth UK£ 9 billion from the UK Ministry of Defence Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC) to deliver a replacement for the United States Air Force’s current fleet of Boeing E-4B “Nightwatch”. The Nightwatch is a strategic command and control military aircraft designed to withstand attack and to be used by the US President and executive team in national emergencies.
Controversies
Saudi Arabia and Yemen
Rolls-Royce provides engines to the Typhoon and Tornado aircraft globally. These craft have been central to Saudi Arabia’s devastating attacks on Yemen – attacks that have killed thousands and created a humanitarian disaster. In 2017, the Middle East Propulsion Company, a Saudi company, confirmed that contracts were being signed with both Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems to maintain and repair the engines of the Saudi air force’s Tornado and Typhoon fighter jet fleet. In 2019, Amnesty International singled out Rolls-Royce among other companies for criticism of its human rights due diligence policies in light of the Saudi-led coalition’s campaign in Yemen. The Middle East region is central to Rolls-Royce’s plans to “quadruple profits” by 2027.
Corruption allegations
In 2017, Rolls-Royce and the UK Serious Fraud Office entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) when Rolls-Royce admitted corrupt actions in 13 countries, including India where it had an agreement to provide Hawk Aircraft. The DPA was worth the “largest ever” sum of over UK£ 497 million. As a result of the scandal, investors in the company lost millions of pounds and in 2023, they launched a legal claim against the company.
UK lobbying and influence operations
In 2004, Rolls-Royce was engaged in lobbying to weaken anti-bribery procedures introduced by the Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD), the former name for UK Export Finance (UKEF), which provides finance for UK businesses including arms companies.
In 2022, an investigation by OpenDemocracy into arms company secondments within the UK Ministry of Defence revealed that Rolls-Royce had supplied at least two employees to Defence Equipment and Support, the government body that purchases military goods and services.
