US and Australian success for LM2500

“The successful DDG 51 program already includes 57 destroyers delivered, with five additional ships under construction, all powered by GE LM2500 gas turbines. The US Navy has been pleased with the performance and reliability of our engines on the Arleigh Burke class ships, as well as on the Ticonderoga class cruisers and Perry class frigates. Mean time between removal of the LM2500 gas turbines is roughly 23,000 hours, which equates to about 17 years in service. Therefore it is a natural fit that GE’s LM2500s have been selected to power the DDG newbuilds,” said Brien Bolsinger, GE Marine general manager.

According to a presentation made at the Sea Air Space 2010 conference by Capt Peter C Lyle, US Navy DDG 51 program manager, “The capability of DDG 51 Class ships being built today is markedly more advanced than the initial ships of the class. The benefits of competition, employment of mature technologies, design stability, fixed price contracting, commonality, and economies of scale promise to provide these highly capable ships to the fleet on cost and on schedule.”

The new vessels are being built by General Dynamics’ Bath Iron Works and Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding. GE will provide four gas turbine modules per vessel. Included in GE’s contract will be the LM2500 gas turbine, base and enclosure assembly, pneumatic starter and single cooler lube storage and conditioning assembly. Delivery of the modules is expected to commence in 2011 and to be completed by 2013.

Meanwhile, GE Marine recetly completed acceptance testing on the first LM2500 for the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD).

GE is supplying six LM2500 gas turbines to power three RAN advanced AWDs. Each Hobart class AWD, being built by ASC’s Osborne yard, will feature two LM2500s in a CODAG arrangement with two diesel engines. The RAN’s new destroyers share the design, developed by Navantia of Spain, with the Spanish Navy’s F100.

On test at GE in Evendale, Ohio, the initial AWD LM2500 demonstrated rated power and verified its ability to operate at other partial power load levels. In addition, critical airborne and structure-borne noise levels were demonstrated for power levels representative of the ships’ planned operating profile.

The RAN has also specified the LM2500 gas turbine as the baseline propulsion system for its next-generation Landing Helicopter Deck amphibious ships to be named HMAS Canberra and HMAS Adelaide. The RAN additionally operates 16 LM2500 gas turbines in two additional ship classes – the Adelaide and ANZAC class frigates.

Second of the US Coast Guard’s new Deepwater National Security Cutters, USCGC Waesche was recently commissioned by the USCG at its home port in California. The vessel is powered by one GE LM2500 gas turbine and two diesel engines in a CODAG propulsion system, supplied by MTU Detroit Diesel.