LM2500 Gas Turbine Powers Turkish Navy's MILGEM Corvette
GE’s Marine Solutions announced that the Turkish Navy’s third MILGEM multi-purpose corvette TCG Burgazada was launched powered by a GE LM2500 gas turbine-based propulsion system. The launch ceremony was held in mid-June at the Istanbul Naval Shipyard; a keel laying ceremony was also held for sister MILGEM ship TCG Kınalıada.
The propulsion system for TCG Burgazada (F-513) is the same as sisters TCG Heybeliada (F-511) and TCG Büyükada (F-512), consisting of an LM2500 gas turbine in a combined diesel and gas turbine configuration with two diesel engines. Total propulsion power is 31,000 kilowatts, allowing the ships to reach maximum speed in excess of 29 knots. The corvettes have an overall length of 99 meters with a displacement of 2,300 tons.
Separately a fleet of 24 LM2500s operate aboard the Turkish Navy’s Barbaros- and Gabya-class frigates. Worldwide, the LM2500 gas turbine is used by 34 international navies and in countless commercial marine and industrial applications.
The LM2500 gas turbines are manufactured at GE’s Evendale, Ohio, facility. Tusas Engine Industries Inc. (TEI), a joint venture between GE and Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc., manufactures parts for LM2500 gas turbines as well as other GE Aviation engines at their facility in Eskisehir, Turkey.