This milestone comes after the Rolls-Royce F130 team completed Critical Design Review (CDR) in late 2024, clearing the way to build the first flight test engines. Additionally, the engine testing program has completed:
- Rapid Twin Pod Tests at NASA Stennis Space Center where Rolls-Royce tested the F130 engines for the first time in the unique dual-pod configuration of the B-52. These tests played a key role in validating Rolls-Royce’s analytical predictions, further de-risking the integration of the F130 engine onto the B-52J.
- The first phases of F130 sea-level testing in Rolls-Royce’s recently revamped test cell in Indianapolis where the team tested the initial software release for the engine and gathered critical performance data for the program to progress.
Next, the program will move into further system integration and dual-pod testing at Stennis, marking another milestone in the propulsion development.
Throughout the testing program, engineering and design teams have gathered critical performance data to validate modelling and further confirm that the F130 engine is the right fit for the B-52J reengining program.
Built for a long life and low maintenance, the F130 engine will reduce the sustainment burden. F130 engines are fully interchangeable in the dual-pod configuration – an upgrade from the current platforms left engine and right engine configuration – which will simplify logistics, improve readiness, and make maintenance easier.
With over 30 million flight hours, the F130’s commercial heritage ensures reliability and a strong global supply chain. As part of the BR engine family, the BR725 engine has been in production for 13 years with more than 1,000 engines flying today.
Once production begins, Rolls-Royce will manufacture, assemble, and test the F130 engine in Indianapolis, Rolls-Royce’s largest production facility in the U.S. Rolls-Royce has invested more than $1.5 billion in the U.S. over the last decade, including modernizing Indianapolis facilities to deliver innovation and advanced manufacturing to the Air Force and other customers with American labor.
Rolls-Royce’s U.S. footprint spans 34 locations across 26 states, employing more than 5,000 people and supporting hundreds of American suppliers. In 2024 alone, Rolls-Royce’s operations contributed $6.2 billion to the U.S. economy.