Rolls-Royce has successfully completed the first engine run on its state-of-the-art Testbed 80, which will be the largest and smartest indoor aerospace testbed in the world after its official opening in the coming months. With an internal area of 7500 sq m, making it larger than a football pitch, the testbed conducted its first run on a Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engine at the company’s facility in Derby. The project has been under construction for almost three years and represents a £90m investment.

Chris Cholerton, president of Rolls-Royce Civil Aerospace, says: “Testbed 80 will not only test engines such as the Trent XWB, but the engines and propulsion systems of the future, which will see us take another step towards decarbonisation. It’s great that the first engine test has been a success.”

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