Rolls-Royce builds $400 million test cells for US military engine work

Rolls-Royce has been picked to supply engines for several major US military aircraft platforms, and it has put money into aero-engine test infrastructure to back that work, expanding what it can develop inside the United States. The facilities are described as test cells worth $400 million.

The engines it is contracted to supply now are mature designs or modern versions of them. According to the company, the investment leaves it better placed for future high-performance engines, where the hard problems increasingly lie in thermal management and integration rather than shaft horsepower alone.

The aircraft named in connection with the work are the B-52, the V-22 and the C-130J.