Rolls-Royce has announced its withdrawal from the competition to deliver engines to power Boeing’s planned new midsize airplane (NMA).

The company cited that it is ‘unable to commit to the proposed timetable’ to deliver a ‘sufficiently mature’ product for the aircraft as the reason for its withdrawal.

Boeing plans to launch a new midsized airplane to fill a gap between the narrow and wide-body aircraft. The NMA is not expected to be operational until 2025.

Rolls-Royce Civil Aerospace president Chris Cholerton said: “This is the right decision for Rolls-Royce and the best approach for Boeing. Delivering on our promises to customers is vital to us and we do not want to promise to support Boeing’s new platform if we do not have every confidence that we can deliver to their schedule.”

The company had hoped to offer its next-generation UltraFan engine design for Boeing’s NMA.

“This is the right decision for Rolls-Royce and the best approach for Boeing.”

Cholerton added: “UltraFan is the foundation of our future large civil aero engine programmes and we must ensure that it has as smooth an entry into service as possible.

“We had begun its development before the Boeing opportunity emerged and it must undergo a rigorous testing regime before we offer it to customers, which we do not believe can be achieved within the NMA timeframe.

“Withdrawing at this stage will enable Boeing to structure the final part of the competition in a way that best suits them and we hope and expect to work with Boeing on other new opportunities in the future.”

The company stated that the decision will enable it to de-risk UltraFan’s development.

UltraFan is anticipated to improve airline efficiency by up to 25% when compared with first-generation Rolls-Royce Trent engines.

Citing unnamed industry sources, Reuters reported that Rolls-Royce’s withdrawal will benefit rival company General Electric.

Pratt & Whitney is another contender in the competition to win the engine supply deal.