Rolls-Royce, Purdue Unveil Military Aircraft Controller

Rolls-Royce executives & Purdue President Mitch Daniels unveil a military aircraft engine controller developed at Purdue's Discovery Park. (photo courtesy: Purdue/Rebecca McElhoe)

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Indianapolis-based Rolls-Royce Corp. has developed a new engine controls system in the Purdue Discovery Park District which the company says will be installed in the engines competing for a contract in the U.S. Air Force B-52 program.

Rolls-Royce executives, along with Purdue University President Mitch Daniels, unveiled Wednesday a new controls system that can help manage in-flight engine operations on a B-52 bomber and other military aircraft.

The system will be installed into the F130 military engine which is being manufactured at the company’s complex in Indianapolis.

“Rolls-Royce has partnered with Purdue University for decades. We are excited to launch our new controls capability,” said Tom Bell, Rolls-Royce, chief executive officer of Rolls-Royce North America. 

The flight engine controller is responsible for the control of gas turbine engines, monitoring and adjusting multiple factors such as air and fuel flow. The device helps reduce pilot workload and enhance fuel efficiency. They’re about the size of a laptop computer.

The company says if it wins the B-52 engine competition, the F130 engines would be manufactured at the company’s Indianapolis facilities. Rolls-Royce says it would need to add more than 150 new jobs in manufacturing, engineering, program management and other positions for the program.

The controllers will also be installed on engines designated for the U.S. Air Force Global Hawk and the U.S. Navy MQ-25 Stingray aircraft.

“Whether for the Rolls-Royce AE family of engines or for our competitive F130 engine for the B-52, these new controllers will support U.S. military pilots as they fly around the world, offering the highest-quality technical product,” Bell said.