The Rolls-Royce Trent XWB is the turbofan family developed for the Airbus A350. The Trent XWB-84 powers the A350-900, while the more powerful XWB-97 equips the A350-1000. The two principal versions entered passenger service in 2015 and 2018 respectively, bringing the Trent architecture to Airbus's new long-range twinjet.[1]
Two aircraft requirements
The XWB-84 and XWB-97 belong to distinct thrust classes of 84,000 and 97,000 lbf. They support different members of the A350 family rather than serving as competing engine choices on one airframe. The higher rating gives the larger A350-1000 its required propulsive capability. Rolls-Royce describes the XWB-97 as the highest-thrust member of its Trent range.[1]
Internal arrangement
The engine separates its rotating machinery into three shafts. The manufacturer's technical cutaway identifies a 118-inch fan with 22 blades, an eight-stage intermediate-pressure compressor and a six-stage high-pressure compressor. Turbines downstream of the combustor drive these systems, with one high-pressure turbine stage, two intermediate-pressure stages and six low-pressure stages in the illustrated arrangement. The published overall pressure ratio is 50:1 and bypass ratio 9.6:1.[2]
Durability development
Service in hot, dusty climates prompted a staged XWB-97 improvement programme. In its 2025 account, Rolls-Royce acknowledged that desert operation had not met customers' durability expectations even while the engine retained strong fuel-consumption performance. The next phase combined redesigned turbine blades, different seal segments and improved combustor cooling to address known sources of deterioration.[3]
Ground validation
For this development work, engineers reproduced desert exposure on a Derby test stand, combining sand ingestion with repeated temperature changes. An unmodified engine provided a baseline against which the upgraded design could be tested. This connected the redesign to observed airline operating conditions and supported the stated objective of longer intervals between engine removals. The 2025 account described the phase as development work, with service introduction then expected from 2028.[3]