The RB3011 was renamed from RB2011, because Rolls-Royce employees kept confusing the 2011 with the expected service entry date.
Both pusher and tractor open rotor designs form part of Rolls-Royce's long-term "15-50" vision, which is examining various architectures to tackle the 150 seat-aircraft market.
Within 15-50 group – named for specific fuel consumption reductions of 15–50% compared with current generation engines – there are various options based on technology availability and maturity.
Rolls-Royce felt it could develop and certify the engine before the aircraft's planned (at the time) certification in the first quarter of 2015.
[4] It was hoped to reduce the fuel consumption of an aircraft, compared to those with normal turbofan engines, by up to 30%.