Modified Rolls-Royce T56 makes first flight

Modified Rolls-Royce T56 makes first flight: Rolls-Royce has completed the first flight of a modified T56 engine, the Series 3.5, to improve fuel efficiency of the legacy examples that power the Lockheed Martin C-130 transport and P-3 maritime patrol aircraft.

The new engine makes a number of technical improvements to the existing power plant, which first entered production in 1954. The US Air Force, which is working with R-R to test the engine, flies 220 C-130Hs with four T56 engines each, many of which are slated to remain in service for decades. A portion of the US Navy's P-3 Orion fleet also uses the engine, and the service has shown interest in the Series 3.5 modification. Hundreds of additional C-130s are in civil and military use throughout the world.