Rolls-Royce is probably best-known for being a British manufacturer of very, very high-end cars, and that’s a reputation that’s well-deserved. (My wife has always said that if she ever happens upon a huge cash windfall, she will buy a 1932 Rolls-Royce Phantom II.) But they are also a manufacturer of top-end aircraft engines, dating back to the early years of aviation. They also have a long history with their engines in the United States. In World War II, the United States fielded what was almost certainly the best piston-engine fighter ever made, the North American P-51 Mustang, and that warbird was the best in large part because of its Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. Now, those Merlins were mostly made under license by Packard, an American automobile manufacturer. But now, Rolls-Royce has a jet engine works in Indianapolis, Indiana, and they have now completed a $1 billion upgrade to that facility.
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Rolls-Royce expanded its investment plans for Indiana after winning a $2.6 billion Air Force contract in September 2021 to manufacture more than 600 F130 engines for the department’s B-52 bomber fleet.
The company has been building the engines in Indianapolis during renovations, upgrades and new construction at its campus. The first lot of operational B-52s with the new engines is expected to be delivered by the end of 2028, with the entire fleet modified by 2035.
“This billion-dollar investment is about more than buildings and test cells — it is about delivering for the American warfighter, on time and at the standard our customers expect,” Adam Riddle, president of defense and CEO of Rolls-Royce North America, said in a statement. “We made this investment because it was the right thing to do for U.S. national security and for the future of Rolls-Royce.”
At present, the Air Force has 76 B-52H bombers in service, with 58 on active duty and 18 in reserve. At eight engines per bird, that’s 608 engines; presumably they will want to have some more engines stored as replacements. There were rumors some time back about replacing the B-52’s characteristic eight turbojets with four larger, more efficient turbofan engines, but the decision was made to retain the eight-engine layout over concerns with too many aerodynamic changes. The Rolls-Royce F130 engine was chosen as the replacement. These are the engines now being built in Indianapolis for the Stratofortress upgrade; the re-engined warbirds will be dubbed the B-52J.
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Here’s the interesting part: More Rolls-Royce jet engines are built in Indianapolis than anywhere else.
More Rolls-Royce defense engines are built in Indianapolis than anywhere else in the world, according to the company. More than 3,500 people work there, including union-backed workers. The new test cells, control rooms and other upgrades will be used to test modern, gas turbine engines manufactured on site.
This means jobs, too. Rolls-Royce is already a major employer in the area, and it’s a safe bet that this newly completed expansion will mean that the “Help Wanted” sign will be out on the front door.
The re-engined B-52J aircraft are intended to stay in service until 2050. The first production B-52 entered active United States Air Force service in 1955, meaning that this remarkable aircraft will have served for nearly a century. This incredible service record is possible, in large part, because of these new Rolls-Royce engines – made in America.
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