Analyst Richard Aboulafia of the Teal Group interpreted the Marine Corps' comment as putting pressure on Rolls. "When you're in a sole-source situation and you're not happy with the price of spares and durability of spares, the best way to put pressure on the contractor is to imply that there could be competition in the future," Aboulafia said. "If [Rolls] could somehow combine lower cost with higher performance, that might be something [the Marine Corps] would really want, but on the other hand, it's not clear that's what's going on here."

“It’s an impossibly high base year, with production having more than doubled in half a decade. The industry is running the risk of creating a bubble, and a balance needs to be struck,” said Richard Aboulafia, vice president of analysis at Teal Group Corp., Fairfax, Va. “The industry could be building for a colossal burp after watching costs and rates rise as new planes are produced.”  There also is increased competition from composites, particularly with Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner.  Aboulafia said the battle  of raw material suppliers is a back-and-forth process, with aggressive marketing from competing sectors.  “The Rolls Royce receivership in the 1970s was due to its use of composites in its engine. It became the watchword for overreach,” he said.  Composites have been used on business jets, but all except one failed, Aboulafia noted. The jury is still out on the latest release, which will be Montreal-based Bombardier Inc.’s  Learjet 85.  “Companies are naturally drawn to the innovation story, but it is easy to oversell technology. This is the oversold nature of the composite revolution,” Aboulafia said.