Engineering & Manufacturing Specialty Turbomachinery for National Defense Applications
Barber-Nichols, Inc. (BNI) designs and manufactures custom engineered pumps, turbines, fans, and turbopumps for aeronautic, land vehicle, marine vehicle, and launch vehicle applications. BNI can design custom, or modify existing, hardware to accommodate a wide variety of military applications including electronics cooling; engine cooling; environmental control; life support; nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) systems; process gas transfer; and weapons system cooling. Barber-Nichols has designed and manufactured Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) hardware for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and Missile Defense Agency (MDA).
Barber-Nichols designed and manufactured the prototype engine 
compartment cooling fan for the Crusader 155 mm Self-Propelled Howitzer. This 84 horse power, single stage axial flow fan has a discharge pressure of 61 cm (24 in) of water, and a volumetric flow rate of 23,786 m 3 /hr (14,000 ACFM).
BNI manufactures the five-axis turbine wheel for the F-15 Eagle's gas turbine engine starter. These turbines are manufactured from Astroloy
™ and require an 8 to 1 depth to diameter endmill. Additionally, each turbine requires eight hours of hand work before final inspection.
Barber-Nichols manufactures the ten-stage air turbine assembly 
which is used to silently launch torpedoes on the U.S. Navy's Seawolf and Virginal Class Submarines.
BNI designed and manufactured a prototype dual fluid electronics cooling pump for the US Marine Corps' Shadow Reconnaissance, Surveillance, & Targeting Vehicle (RST-V). The vehicle is equipped 
with a tightly packed array of communications hardware, optical and thermal sensors, and range finding equipment. This complex electronics package requires ethylene-glycol and oil coolants. In response to this requirement, Barber-Nichols designed a single pump with two impellers which minimizes weight, space, and electrical power consumption.
BNI manufacturers the Model 744000 Avionics Cooling Pump which is used to cool electrical systems on the C-130 Air 
Transport. The pump weighs a mere 4.3 kg (9.5 lbs) and circulates a 50/50 mix of either ethylene-glycol and water or propylene-glycol and water. The pump also operates at 400 Hz and circulated 15 l/min (4 GPM ).
Barber-Nichols manufactures the Model 815000 Marine Pump (NSN: 4320-01-206-4439). It is a gas turbine engine wash pump on the U.S. Marine Corps' Landing Craft, Air Cushioned (LCAC). The unit weighs 15 kg (34 lbs), pumps fresh water at 57 l/min (15 GPM), and operates on three-phase 400 Hz power.