Jet-engine builder Rolls-Royce Plc opened a new Service Delivery Center (SDC) at Naval Air Station Kingsville, in Texas, its first such location in the U.S. The center will provide on-site support to repair engines and manage service operations for T-45 aircraft used in U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps jet pilot training.
Naval Air Station Kingsville is a training site for student naval aviators for the USN and USMC, and for tactical jet pilots for other select NATO and Allied countries. It is the home base for the Navy’s Training Air Wing TWO and several other military commands. The Boeing T-45 Goshawk aircraft, a modified version of the BAE Hawk land-based training jet aircraft, is the carrier-capable aircraft used in those training programs.
The Rolls SDC at NAS Kingsville will service the Rolls-Royce F405 (Adour) engines that power the T-45 two-seat training aircraft. The terms of the new MissonCare™ program were not announced. Under MissionCare, Rolls will provide a wide range of services, including engine repair and overhaul, embedded engineering, and field service support.
Rolls-Royce also manages spare parts, inventory, logistics, engineering improvements, technical support, and other services.
Recently, Rolls was awarded an estimated $112.5-million contract by the U.K. Ministry of Defence to provide support for Adour engines powering the similar Hawk jet trainer aircraft used by the Royal Air Force. The F405 (Adour) engine powers a wide range of military aircraft worldwide, and has completed more than 8 million engine flight hours, according to Rolls.
The SDC at Kingsville will be based on a model developed and operated successfully by Rolls-Royce at RAF Marham, in England.
Rolls has provided a similar service (called "Power by the Hour®") to the USN for its F405 engine fleet since 2003.
“The first Rolls-Royce Service Delivery Center in the U.S. demonstrates our commitment to providing the best support possible for the US Navy and its mission to train the aviators of the future,” according to Paul Craig, Services director for Rolls-Royce. “Our successful approach to managing engine service and support will continue a legacy of engine readiness and availability.”
