Rolls-Royce has completed a decade-long, $1 billion investment in its Indiana operations, marking a major expansion of the company’s role in the U.S. defense industrial base and positioning its Indianapolis campus as one of its most important engine manufacturing and testing sites worldwide.
The investment, the largest Rolls-Royce has made in the United States, has modernized manufacturing across the Indianapolis campus while adding new engine testing capabilities in both Indianapolis and West Lafayette. The result is a facility designed not only to build advanced engines, but also to test them through a wider range of conditions before they enter service.
For Rolls-Royce, the timing is significant. Its Indiana operations are increasingly tied to programs that will support the U.S. military for decades, including the future F130 engines for the U.S. Air Force’s B-52J and AE 1107 engines for the Army’s MV-75 Future Long Range Assault Aircraft. The Indianapolis campus also supports engines powering aircraft such as the V-22 Osprey, the U.S. Navy’s MQ-25A Stingray and the C-130J.
Indianapolis becomes a key Rolls-Royce defense hub
The scale of the transformation is important because Indianapolis is no longer simply one production location within Rolls-Royce’s global network. The company says more of its defense products are built in Indianapolis than anywhere else in the world.
The modernization has covered advanced manufacturing, assembly and engine testing. New ground-test facilities have been added at the Indianapolis campus, while a dedicated altitude test facility has been developed in West Lafayette. Together, the upgrades give Rolls-Royce greater control over the development and validation of its engines in the United States.
That capability matters for military programs where engine performance, reliability and testing schedules can directly affect aircraft development and delivery timelines.
The investment also builds on an earlier $600 million modernization program at the Indianapolis site. Rolls-Royce announced a further $400 million investment in test facilities in 2022, bringing the total Indiana modernization effort to approximately $1 billion. The additional testing infrastructure was intended to support engines for defense and commercial aircraft as well as other applications.
The company has already begun using the upgraded facilities for major programs. Its F130 engine, selected to replace the B-52’s existing engines, entered testing in Indianapolis in 2024. Rolls-Royce said the F130 will be manufactured, assembled and tested at the Indianapolis facility.
B-52 and MV-75 programs give the investment added weight
Two of the most important programs linked to the Indiana expansion are the B-52J and MV-75.
For the B-52, Rolls-Royce is developing the F130 engine under the U.S. Air Force’s Commercial Engine Replacement Program. The engine is intended to support the long-serving bomber as it moves toward another phase of its operational life.
The company has previously said the F130 is expected to extend the B-52’s service life by decades. Testing at Indianapolis is therefore more than a manufacturing milestone; it is part of a broader effort to ensure the aircraft can continue operating well into the future.
The other major program is the Army’s MV-75, the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft. Rolls-Royce is developing the AE 1107F engine for the aircraft, with engine testing already underway at the Indianapolis campus.
The AE engine family also has a long operational history. Rolls-Royce says the family has accumulated more than 90 million flight hours across commercial and military platforms, while its common-core architecture provides substantial commonality between different engine variants.
That existing experience gives the Indianapolis operation an important role as Rolls-Royce moves from established propulsion systems toward the next generation of military aircraft.
MQ-25 and C-130J add to the workload
The Indiana campus is not being built around a single aircraft program.
Rolls-Royce already produces engines in Indianapolis for the C-130J and V-22 Osprey, while the AE 3007 engine powers the U.S. Navy’s MQ-25A Stingray unmanned carrier-based refueling aircraft.
The MQ-25 is particularly notable because it represents a different direction for military aviation. Instead of carrying weapons or conventional crewed missions, the unmanned aircraft is designed to extend the reach of carrier-based aircraft by providing aerial refueling.
Rolls-Royce manufactures the AE engines for the MQ-25 in Indianapolis, making the site part of the propulsion infrastructure behind one of the U.S. Navy’s newer aviation programs.
Having multiple defense programs operating through the same manufacturing ecosystem also gives Rolls-Royce a broader industrial base from which to support production, maintenance and future upgrades.
A $1 billion investment with a wider economic footprint
The impact of the project extends beyond the factory gates.
Rolls-Royce employs approximately 3,500 people in Indianapolis, including a skilled workforce represented by the United Auto Workers. The company also supports thousands of additional jobs through its Indiana supply chain.
Across the United States, Rolls-Royce says it invested more than $1.5 billion in facilities and nearly $2.5 billion in research and development during the past decade. Its U.S. operations contributed $6.2 billion to the national economy in 2024 and, including research and development spillover, supported more than 30,000 jobs across 26 states.
The company estimates that every dollar invested by the U.S. government in Rolls-Royce generates roughly four dollars for the wider U.S. economy. Its broader American supply chain includes more than 1,000 suppliers, reinforcing the connection between aerospace investment and regional manufacturing.
For Indiana, the significance is particularly strong. The company has maintained a presence in the state for three decades, and the latest investment strengthens its position within Indiana’s long-established manufacturing sector.
LibertyWorks keeps the focus on future technology
The Indianapolis operation is also home to LibertyWorks, Rolls-Royce’s advanced research and development organization for U.S. defense work.
LibertyWorks has spent decades developing technologies in areas including propulsion, high-temperature materials and thermal management. Its work is aimed at moving emerging technologies from early concepts toward prototypes and military applications.
The organization is supported by a $75 million, 10-year partnership with Purdue University, connecting Rolls-Royce’s industrial capabilities with academic research in propulsion and related technologies.
That research connection could become increasingly important as the U.S. military looks beyond today’s aircraft toward more demanding propulsion requirements, including advanced combat aircraft, hypersonic systems and other emerging technologies.
More than a factory upgrade
The completion of the Indiana investment ultimately represents more than a collection of new buildings, test cells and upgraded equipment.
It gives Rolls-Royce a larger domestic platform from which to design, manufacture and test engines supporting several major U.S. defense programs. At the same time, it strengthens a network of American workers, suppliers, researchers and manufacturing capabilities that could remain relevant well beyond the current generation of aircraft.
Adam Riddle, president of defense and CEO of Rolls-Royce North America, described the investment as being about more than infrastructure, emphasizing the company’s focus on delivering for the U.S. warfighter while meeting customer expectations for timing and performance.
That may be the most important takeaway from the Indianapolis expansion. As Washington places greater emphasis on resilient domestic supply chains and the ability to produce critical military hardware in the United States, Rolls-Royce has spent the past decade building exactly that kind of capability.
With the $1 billion modernization now complete, Indianapolis is positioned to play a central role in keeping some of America’s most important aircraft flying — while preparing the propulsion technologies that could power the next generation.
For more on Rolls-Royce, see: Rolls-Royce Lands Trent Engine Deals With Two Airlines
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