US Navy Taps GA-EMS to Study Propulsor Bearing Concept Designs

General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) said on Friday it has been awarded a task order from Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division (NSWCCD) to conduct a manufacturing assessment of several new propulsor bearing concept designs for U.S. Navy submarines. The task order is under the Propulsor Demonstration Hardware (PDH) Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract previously awarded to GA-EMS.

“Manufacturing feasibility evaluations such as this are crucial steps in determining whether a new concept design will deliver greater performance, improved manufacturability, and better lifecycle maintainability when compared to existing propulsor and component designs,” said Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS. “We look forward to working with NSWCCD to review the various design selections, perform a detailed assessment of each design’s approach to the requirements, and provide a ranking to help NSWCCD determine the next step toward manufacturing demonstration prototypes.”  

GA-EMS will conduct a comparative analysis of the selected propulsor bearing designs, including mechanical stress modeling, requirements for manufacturing equipment, assembly, and testing, materials sourcing, concept demonstration recommendations, cost analysis, and scheduling requirements. NSWCCD is responsible for managing the research and development, design, test, and delivery of submarine propulsors and components to support future U.S. Navy requirements.

“Our decades of experience engineering and manufacturing large, complex systems, including the electromagnetic aircraft launch and recovery systems for Ford-class carriers, provides us with a unique perspective and a broad range of capabilities and infrastructure that are applicable to submarine hardware and components,” continued Forney. “Our goal is to support the Navy’s endeavors to continually advance design innovations that will deliver the best technologies to the fleet and the warfighter.”