INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Leaders with Virginia-headquartered Rolls-Royce North America and state officials gathered Thursday at the company’s Indianapolis performance building to celebrate a $1 billion, yearslong investment in Indiana.
Rolls-Royce spent $600 million of the investment to modernize advanced manufacturing sites, a project that finished in 2021. The company used the remaining $400 million to add full engine-test capabilities. Those test cells allow engineers to run a wider range of tests on engines at a lower cost and with lower risk.
Rolls-Royce, which designs, manufactures, and supports power and propulsion systems for military aircraft, naval vessels, and submarines globally, says 80% of its U.S. defense workforce living and working in Indiana. More than 760 employees at the Indianapolis plant are Purdue University graduates.
The Indianapolis Rolls-Royce campus boasts more than 3,500 employees and the production of more than 14,000 engines since 2001.
Warren White, director of manufacturing operations for Rolls-Royce Defense, said the programs the company has invested in will last 30 to 50 years. “This is an aerospace state. It’s technology-driven; we’re changing the formula for what’s around here.”
White led the media on a behind-the-scenes tour of the facility Thursday afternoon in Indianapolis, showing an up-close look at some of the company’s largest projects. They include the AE 1107 engine, which will power the Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne, a tilt-rotor aircraft designed to be the Army’s eventual replacement for the Black Hawk helicopter.
The company is also focusing on a more fuel-efficient and long-range engine for the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bomber. Thanks to the $40 million test cells, the company can test its F-130 engine set to go inside those B-52s more efficiently.
“I can put small pressure, vibrations and temperature sensors all over the engine; run it, control it, and tell me everything about it on the inside,” White said.
The company said it plans to hire around 100 new engineers in the short term as development ramps up on Rolls-Royce’s F-130 and AE 1107 engines.
