Rolls-Royce opens $10M repair facility for lift systems

Rolls-Royce not only makes vertical lift systems for the F-35B joint strike fighter in Plainfield, but now it also will repair them.

The engine maker on Tuesday dedicated a $10 million repair facility it’s calling LiftWorks. The 38,000-square-foot repair bay is in the same leased building in Plainfield where Rolls-Royce makes the lifting system for hover-capable versions of the advanced fighter jet.

Rolls-Royce will re-assign up to 40 people to work at the repair and overhaul facility. No new jobs are created for now, although the company said that if work at the facility grows, more jobs could be needed.

The British manufacturer, which has substantial operations in Indianapolis, is the only maker of vertical lifting systems for fighter jets. The company has delivered 50 so far for the F-35.

The lifting system, which allows the F35 Lightning jet to hover like a helicopter, includes a powerful fan, a swivel, a roll post that blasts air out from under each wing, and a shaft connected to the aircraft’s Pratt & Whitney-made engine.

The Marine Corps shares in the cost of the repair facility. The British military also flies the plane.

Putting the repair facility next to the assembly plant is an efficiency move, said Tom Bell, president of Rolls-Royce’s defense business. “We have the capacity to grow our operations at this facility as the F-35 program ramps up in future years.”

Rolls-Royce also said it signed a 10-year deal to supply at least 1,000 engines to Robinson Helicopter Co.

The made-in-Indianapolis engines will be used on the R66 gas-turbine helicopter, which began flying in 2010. So far, Rolls-Royce has delivered more than 800 engines to power the R66.

Call Star reporter Jeff Swiatek at (317)444-6483. Follow him on Twitter: @JeffSwiatek.