Freedom Tests New Gas Turbine Engines

Monday, May 05, 2008

Lockheed Martin and Marinette Marine Corp. successfully demonstrated April 25 the first "light-off" of one of Freedom's (LCS 1) two main gas turbine propulsion engines in Marinette, Wis.
Testing of the Rolls Royce MT-30 gas turbine engine is a significant step as the ship prepares for sea trials this summer.
Freedom, the first of a new class of littoral combat ships, will use these two gas turbine engines and two main propulsion diesel engines to power the ship's steerable water jets, a first for a U.S. Navy ship, and propel the ship at speeds of more than 40 knots.
"This was an important milestone," said LCS Program Manager Capt. Jim Murdoch. "The supporting systems worked smoothly to bring the engine to life."
Freedom will continue to perform dock-side tests and evaluations as it prepares for its summer sea trials. The Navy expects to accept delivery of the ship and commission it later this year.
LCS is a new breed of U.S. Navy warship with versatile warfighting capabilities, capable of open-ocean operation but optimized for littoral, or coastal, missions.
Operational experience and analyses indicate that potential adversaries will employ asymmetric means to deny U.S. and allied forces access into critical coastal regions, such as strategic chokepoints and vital economic sea lanes. LCS is specifically designed to defeat such "anti-access" threats, which include fast surface craft, quiet diesel submarines and various types of mines.

Freedom is the first ship of the class currently under construction. Independence (LCS 2) is being built in Mobile, Ala., by Austal, USA, the detail design and shipbuilding subcontractor to General Dynamics/Bath Iron Works and is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy later this year.
From Program Executive Office Ships Public Affairs