Rolls-Royce powers US warships

Designed to operate in combat zones close to the shore (littoral waters), each LCS will be equipped with two Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbines powering four large waterjets, enabling the vessels to reach speeds in excess of 40 knots. At 36MW, the MT30 is the world’s most powerful marine gas turbine. Combining this power with Rolls-Royce waterjets makes the LCS highly manoeuvrable, able to operate in shallow waters and to stop and accelerate quickly.

Rolls-Royce is already supplying propulsion equipment on the first two Lockheed Martin vessels, the USS Freedom and USS Forth Worth, and today’s announcement extends this with one firm order and options for a further nine ships of the same design.

The MT30 is derived from Rolls-Royce aero engine technology, building on over 45 million hours of operating experience and reliability. It also has the highest power density of any marine gas turbine, a key factor in naval propulsion where delivering a high power output in a compact space is essential. The MT30 is the latest development of Rolls-Royce marine gas turbines and has also been selected for the UK Royal Navy’s new Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers and the US Navy’s DDG-1000 Zumwalt class destroyer programme.

The waterjets are among the largest produced by Rolls-Royce and can pump water at a combined rate of 25,000 gallons per second, enough to fill an Olympic style swimming pool in 25 seconds. In addition to gas turbines and waterjets, a significant range of Rolls-Royce equipment is specified in the Lockheed Martin design including shaftlines, bearings and propulsion system software.