Columbus’s T&M Associates Tests Air Force Bomber Engines

Last year, Rolls-Royce announced that the company has begun testing F130 engines for the United States Air Force’s B-52 fleet at the NASA Stennis Space Center in Mississippi — the nation’s largest rocket propulsion test site. This initiative will replace the engines in the Air Force’s B-52 fleet, with more than 600 new engine deliveries expected. The milestone test program is the first time that F130 engines have been tested in what is known as a “dual-pod” engine configuration of the B-52 aircraft, a historic strategic bomber that has been operated by the Air Force since the 1950s. 

It may surprise members of the Columbus Chamber of Commerce to learn that crucial components of the engine testing are being conducted by T&M Associates, a national consulting, engineering, environmental, and technical services firm (and proud Chamber member) whose Midwest headquarters are based right here in Columbus. T&M Associates is working closely with Rolls-Royce to prepare these state-of-the-art aircraft for continued national defense. 

T&M Associates has a long history in Columbus and the surrounding regions, working on projects that have included a series of award-winning infrastructure improvements for the city’s Old Beechwold neighborhood, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The firm’s work is routinely featured on Columbus Business First’s lists of largest Central Ohio engineering projects, and T&M has been repeatedly named a “Best Workplace in Ohio” by Ohio Business Magazine. You can learn more about the organization at www.tandmassociates.com.