Several Milestones on US Navy, Coast Guard Builds
Photo: Lance Davis / HII
Photo: GE
GE’s Marine Solutions noted that several milestones were recently marked on U.S. Navy and Coast Guard surface combatant programs that all use GE’s LM2500 aeroderivative marine gas turbines.
On December 23, 2016, the U.S. Navy accepted delivery of the fifth Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), the future USS Gabrielle Giffords. GE will provide 20 LM2500 gas turbines for the Austal USA LCS program, part of a contract for up to 10 ships to be built by Austal USA. The two LM2500s are arranged in a Combined Diesel And Gas turbine (CODAG) configuration with two diesel engines.
The John Finn (DDG 113) destroyer was also delivered to the U.S. Navy by Huntington Ingalls Industries on December 7, the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The ship’s namesake helped shoot down Japanese warplanes during the attack and was the first Medal of Honor recipient of World War II. John Finn is the 63rd Arleigh Burke-class destroyer and the first of the DDG 51 Flight IIA restart ships. GE LM2500 gas turbines propel these new destroyers to speeds in excess of 30 knots.
On December 16, the U.S. Coast Guard accepted delivery of the sixth National Security Cutter (NSC) Munro, in Pascagoula, Miss.; the Munro is scheduled for commissioning in April 2017. One day later, the seventh NSC Kimball, was launched at Huntington Ingalls Industries in Pascagoula. Ships in the U.S. Coast Guard’s Legend-class NSC program feature the same LM2500-based CODAG propulsion system.
GE marine gas turbines can be applied in a variety of propulsion configurations so naval architects have the design flexibility to best match speed, endurance and mission payload requirements. GE’s LM2500 gas turbines for the above-mentioned projects were manufactured in Evendale, Ohio.
To date, the U.S. Navy – GE’s largest marine gas turbine customer – has taken delivery of more than 700 LM2500 engines operating aboard surface combatants such as frigates and destroyers. Worldwide, more than 1,400 GE gas turbines log over 14 million hours serving 35 navies on 500 naval ships for 100 military ship programs ranging from cruisers, patrol boats and corvettes to frigates, amphibious ships and aircraft carriers.
