ONR to Christen Advanced Electric Ship Demonstrator

The Advanced Electric Ship Demonstrator (AESD), Sea Jet, funded by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), is a 133-ft. vessel located at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division, Acoustic Research Detachment in Bayview, Idaho. Sea Jet will operate on Lake Pend Oreille, where it will be used for test and demonstration of various technologies. Among the first technologies tested will be an underwater discharge waterjet from Rolls-Royce Naval Marine, Inc., called AWJ-21, a propulsion concept with the goals of providing increased propulsive effiency, reduced acoustic signature, and improved maneuverability over previous Destroyer Class combatants. (U.S. Navy Photograph by John F. Williams)

The Office of Naval Research will christen the Advanced Electric Ship Demonstrator (AESD) on August 24, 2005, at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division, Acoustic Research Detachment in Bayview, Idaho.

Chief of Naval Research Rear Admiral Jay M. Cohen will deliver the principle address at the christening. The ship’s sponsor is Kathleen Harper, wife of Thurman Harper, vice president of engineering for Rolls-Royce Naval Marine, Inc. In the time-honored Navy tradition, she will break a bottle of champagne across the bow to formally christen the ship "Sea Jet."

The 133-ft. vessel will serve as a model representing a destroyer-size surface ship and will be launched on Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho, where it will be used for test and demonstration of various technologies. An underwater discharge waterjet from Rolls-Royce Naval Marine, Inc., called AWJ-21 ™, will be among the first technologies tested. It allows vessels to operate in shallow water with increased maneuverability and stealth.

Following demonstration of the AWJ-21, the RIMJET propulsor from General Dynamics Electric Boat will be installed in Sea Jet for evaluation. The RIMJET is a novel type of podded propulsion system that relies on a permanent magnet motor to drive the propellor.