GE Gas Turbines Power LCS USS Coronado
Littoral Combat Ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) was commissioned by the United States Navy on April 5 at its home port of San Diego, California. GE Marine reported that this Independence-variant LCS is powered by two GE LM2500 marine gas turbines.
Named for the California city of Coronado, LCS 4 is the third Navy ship to bear the name of the "Crown City." The first USS Coronado (PF 38), a patrol frigate, served as a convoy escort during World War II. The second USS Coronado (AGF 11), designed as an Austin-class amphibious transport dock (LPD), was reconfigured to be an auxiliary command ship (AGF); it was decommissioned in 2006. The new LCS 4 is now part of the U.S. Navy’s 3rd Fleet, which leads naval forces in the Eastern Pacific from the West Coast of North America to the international date line.
The ship was built in Mobile, Alabama by Austal USA. LCS 4 incorporated a number of design changes based on lessons learned from the first ship of class, USS Independence (LCS 2). These changes are now part of the baseline design and are being incorporated in the construction of follow-on ships of the Independence variant.
GE will provide 20 LM2500 gas turbines for the Austal USA LCS program, part of a contract for up to 10 ships over a five-year period. The Austal-built LCSs are powered by two LM2500s arranged in a combined diesel or gas turbine configuration with two diesel engines. The LM2500 gas turbines are manufactured at GE’s Evendale, Ohio, facility.
According to a U.S. Navy press release, Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mark Ferguson, guest speaker at the commissioning ceremony, stated, "On behalf of the Secretary of the Navy, it's my pleasure to welcome the return of the name USS Coronado to the fleet. There is no finer city for this celebration, and no more Navy pride than there is in Coronado."