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There’s a lot of focus on the latest programs and purchases. It’s certainly justified given the sums at stake, but it can lead casual observers to ignore a major source of funding and profits: service and support for existing equipment.
In September 2013, Rolls-Royce Corp. in Indianapolis, IN received a 6-year, maximum $406 million fixed-price contract to support the T56 turboprop engines that equip many US military C-130 Hercules transports, as well as Navy P-3C Orion sea control planes, EP-3 Aries ELINT planes, E-2C Hawkeye AWACS aircraft, and related C-2 Greyhound carrier cargo planes. Some of those planes have served for well over 30 years. In this case, C-130B/E/H operators Poland, Jordan, and the Philippines are also part of the contract.
This contract was a sole-source acquisition, with an economic-price-adjustment clause to cover any sharp jumps in costs for raw materials. Work will be performed in Indiana until Sept 30/19, the end of FY 2019. The Defense Logistics Agency Aviation in Richmond, VA manages this contract (SPE4A2-13-D-0003).
Contracts & Updates
January 27/20: CIP Rolls Royce won a $69.1 million deal for the T56 Engine Component Improvement Program (CIP). The T56 Engine CIP establishes a prioritized list of projects each calendar year to include developing engineering changes to the engines, developing organizational, intermediate and depot level repairs as needed, and designing modifications to existing support equipment as well as initiating new support equipment designs as required by engine driven changes. The T56 family military turboprop is the leading large turboprop engine globally by a number of units sold and has over 230 million operating hours. It was originally developed by the Allison Engine Company for the Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport entering production in 1954. It has been a Rolls-Royce product since 1995 when Allison was acquired by Rolls-Royce. The T56 is a robust, reliable turboprop engine operating in military and civil aircraft worldwide. The engine’s commercial version, the T56 501-D, is the world-leading large turboprop engine. Work will take place in Indianapolis, Indiana and is scheduled to be finished by December 31, 2029.
November 19/19: 3.5 Update Rolls-Royce won a $67.1 million requirements contract for supplies related to the upgrade of the T-56 engine from series 3.0 to series 3.5. The Rolls-Royce T56 is a single-shaft turboprop engine with a 14-stage axial flow compressor driven by a four-stage turbine. The gearbox has two stages of gear reduction and features a propeller brake. The gearbox is connected to the power section by a torque meter assembly. Other engine modules are the can-annular type combustor and the accessory drive housing. The Series 3.5 upgrade, allows T56 engines to operate at greatly reduced temperatures, extending parts life and improving reliability by 22 percent. The upgrades also provide improved “hot and high” performance. The Series 3.5 package can be installed on T56 engines on either C-130 or P-3 legacy aircraft. Work will take place in Indiana and performance completion date is September 30, 2024.
