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                       PS-90A1     CF6-6
SFC (cruise)           0.595       0.646
BPR                    4.4         5.76
Power-to-weight        5.9:1       5.08:1
Overall press. ratio   35.50       25.2

The low BPR but also low SFC, high pressure ratio, and better power-to-weight ratio, all hint at an advanced engine.

Edit: the cruise SFC of the comparable PW20xx is 0.582.

                       PS-90A1     CF6-6       PW2040

Year                   1992        1971        1981
Thrust                 171 kN      185 kN      178 kN
SFC (cruise)           0.595       0.646       0.582
BPR                    4.4         5.76        5.9
Power-to-weight        5.9:1       5.08:1      5.57:1
OPR                    35.50       25.2        27.6

The low BPR but also low SFC, high overall pressure ratio (OPR), and high power-to-weight ratio, all hint at an advanced engine.

The A2 variant for instance was developed "in co-operation with Pratt & Whitney." If I had to guess, it's because the PS-90 fills a gap in the thrust range, gone since ETOPS put the tris and quads in decline. Nowadays the most common thrusts are 100-120 kN for the narrow-bodies, and the latest big jets are 350+ kN.

Edit: the cruise SFC of the comparable PW20xx is 0.582.

The A2 variant for instance was developed "in co-operation with Pratt & Whitney." If I had to guess, it's because the PS-90 fills a gap in the thrust range, gone since ETOPS put the tris and quads in decline. Nowadays the most common thrusts are 100-120 kN for the narrow-bodies, and the latest big jets are 350+ kN.

They should not be necessarily behind. To compare apples to apples, the nearest similar thrust to the Aviadvigatel PS-90A1 (171 kN) is the General Electric CF6-6 (185 kN), but the CF6-6 is 20 years older, so it's not fair.

The A2 variant for instance was developed "in co-operation with Pratt & Whitney." If I had to guess, it's because the PS-90 fills a gap in the thrust range, gone since ETOPS put the tris and quads in decline. Nowadays the most common thrusts are 100-120 kN for the narrow-bodies, and the latest big jets are 350+ kN.

And a geared-turbofan offshoot is planned, so they want to compete with the PW1000G.

###200 kN range

They should not be necessarily behind. To compare apples to apples, the nearest similar thrust to the Aviadvigatel PS-90A1 (171 kN) is the General Electric CF6-6 (185 kN), but the CF6-6 is 20 years older, so it's not fair.

The A2 variant for instance was developed "in co-operation with Pratt & Whitney." If I had to guess, it's because the PS-90 fills a gap in the thrust range, gone since ETOPS put the tris and quads in decline. Nowadays the most common thrusts are 100-120 kN for the narrow-bodies, and the latest big jets are 350+ kN.

###Big ones

###100 kN range

And a geared-turbofan offshoot is planned, so they want to compete with the PW1000G.

###Military (trivia)

To this day the Kuznetsov NK-32 remains the "largest and most powerful engine ever fitted on a combat aircraft."