Rolls-Royce, the global power systems company, has announced that the growth variant of the Rolls-Royce AE 3007H engine has successfully completed its US Air Force funded flight test.

The engine is designed to enhance performance of the RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft and will offer customers significant improvements in engine durability and total life-cycle cost savings.

The engine, which improves both the turbine and fuel nozzles, began development in 2008. Rolls-Royce made the announcement at the annual Air Force Association Air & Space Conference, near Washington, DC.

The growth engine was tested in a Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk aircraft and both aircraft and engine performed in line with expectations.

Stephen Fairbairn, Rolls-Royce, Vice President – Customer Business, stated: "This is another major milestone for a system which has been flying for 13 years and amassed more than 60,000 flight hours. We continue to enhance our engine performance and capabilities for our customers with these types of improvements."

The Block III enhancement provides significant increases to the life of the turbine and nearly doubles its time on wing. It will become the production configuration for US Navy MQ-4C Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Unmanned Aircraft System (BAMS UAS) and the US Air Force Global Hawk program, as well as future variants.

The RQ-4 is powered by a Rolls-Royce AE 3007H turbofan engine.