GE Marine reports that it has successfully completed acceptance testing on the first LM2500 aeroderivative marine gas turbine for the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD). GE will supply ASC, Adelaide, Australia -- the shipbuilder in the AWD Alliance -- with six LM2500 gas turbines to power three RAN advanced AWDs. Each Hobart class AWD will feature two LM2500s configured into a COmbined Diesel And Gas turbine arrangement with two diesel engines. The vessels will be built at ASC’s Osborne shipyard. The RAN’s new destroyers will have the same design developed by Navantia of Spain and used for the Spanish Navy’s F100 frigate program. While on test in Evendale, Ohio, the initial AWD LM2500 demonstrated rated power and verified its ability to operate at other partial power load levels. In addition, critical airborne and structure-borne noise levels were demonstrated for power levels representative of the ships’ planned operating profile. The AWD is the second advanced ship program for which the RAN recently selected the LM2500 gas turbine as the baseline propulsion system. One LM2500 generator-set will power each of the RAN’s next-generation Landing Helicopter Deck amphibious ships to be named HMAS Canberra and HMAS Adelaide. The RAN also operates 16 LM2500 gas turbines in two additional ship classes – the Adelaide and ANZAC class frigate programs. The LM2500 gas turbines for the AWD program will be manufactured at GE’s Evendale facility. The base and enclosure assemblies for the LM2500s will be manufactured by Thales Australia Limited, through a business component in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia. Two LM2500 engines will be delivered annually to ASC’s shipyard beginning in 2010 through 2012. The first of the AWDs will be delivered to the RAN in early 2015, followed by the second and third ships in early 2016 and mid-2017, respectively.