Rolls-Royce North America pledged $400 million for five-year plan to modernize its jet-engine operations in Indiana, bringing total investment in those operations to almost $1.5 billion over the past 10 years. According to Tom Bell, chairman and CEO of Rolls-Royce North America, “We’re developing state-of-the-art facilities that will enhance our recent modernization project and create value for our customers with highly efficient and advanced manufacturing capabilities.”
New testing facilities will be built in Indianapolis, with test cells, control rooms and other upgrades for testing gas-turbine engines manufactured on site for defense and commercial aircraft, ships, and power systems.
Additionally, Rolls-Royce will be upgrading the electronic engine controls business in West Lafayette and adding high-altitude, hybrid electrical, and hypersonic testing capabilities there, toward establishing a large-scale testing campus there.
Rolls-Royce has approximately 3,300 employees in Indianapolis, in manufacturing, assembly, testing, engineering, and support roles. It claims that more Rolls-Royce products are built in Indianapolis than anywhere else in the world.
It also has engine-testing capability at the Discovery Park District at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind.
The $600-million modernization at Indianapolis completed in 2021 included new manufacturing facilities, upgraded equipment and advanced technology. The planned investment there will update the testing capabilities for various engine products, including the U.S. Air Force B-52 strategic bomber fleet. Last fall Rolls-Royce drew a $2.6-billion Dept. of Defense contract to manufacture 650 engines for the B-52 program.
