Rolls-Royce completes altitude, operability testing on F130 engine for B-52J programme

Rolls-Royce completed altitude and operability testing on its F130 engine, a milestone on the path to modernisation of the B-52J programme. (Rolls-Royce)

Rolls-Royce announced in February that it completed altitude and operability testing for its F130 engine as part of the US Air Force's (USAF's) B-52J programme.

The B-52J Stratofortress was tested with the F130 engine at the US Air Force Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC) in Tullahoma, Tennessee, on “long-duration, high-altitude strategic missions”; “operability testing with distortion screens to replicate turbulent, real-world airflow and confirm engine stability under stress”; and Integrated Drive Generator (IDG) testing with Boeing to test electrical power stability, according to a company statement.

Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Cleaver, USAF programme manager of the B-52 Commercial Engine Replacement Program, said that the tests “gathered essential data about how this engine operates across the full spectrum of flight conditions” while giving Rolls-Royce and the USAF confidence the engine will hold up during test aircraft modification and flight testing.

The milestone comes after Rolls-Royce completed the engine's critical design review (CDR) in late 2024, which cleared the way to build the first flight test engines.

The engine testing programme also completed ‘rapid twin pod tests' at NASA Stennis Space Center in southern Mississippi, where Rolls-Royce tested the F130 engines' interchangeable dual-pod configuration, designed to simplify and improve logistics and maintenance.

The first phases of F130 sea-level testing were also conducted in Rolls-Royce's test cell in Indianapolis, where the company tested the initial software release for the engine.

The company said the programme will move into further system integration and dual-pod testing at Stennis Space Center, with manufacturing, assembly, and testing commencing at Rolls-Royce's production facility in Indianapolis when production begins.