January 15, 2019
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA (January 15, 2019) – GE’s Marine Solutions’ gas turbine propulsion, hybrid electric drive (HED), integrated electric drive (IED) and digital analytic solutions are proven to meet the demanding power and propulsion needs of world navies. Today at the 31st Annual Symposium of the Surface Navy Association GE is highlighting these capabilities as they apply to two new United States Navy programs: the FFGX frigate and the Large Surface Combatant.
What follows are a few ways GE can help meet the ever-changing needs of worldwide naval customers, so they are “Ready, Agile, and Focused to Own the Fight”:
Ready
GE’s propulsion solutions have demonstrated naval experience with unmatched reliability:
- GE provides 97% of the U.S. Navy’s propulsion gas turbines.
- More than 1,200 GE LM2500 marine gas turbines operate globally, logging over 16 million hours for 33 navies.
- GE gas turbines are proven at sea with >99% reliability and >98% availability.
- GE’s global installed base and nine licensed depots worldwide ensure operability and support either on-shore or afloat.
- GE’s split casing compressor and power turbine design allows for in-situ maintenance, making gas turbine removals unnecessary. Navies save millions of dollars a year and weeks/months of ship unavailability.
- GE’s proven power and propulsion solutions are ready to provide fast fleet speed for next generation ships that have increased on-board electric power requirements for new defense systems.
Agile
GE’s propulsion solutions provide ship designers options to cost-effectively meet all mission requirements:
- GE has six gas turbines ranging from 4.5 to 52.7 MW for either single or dual turbine configurations.
- GE is the only company providing a full spectrum of gas turbine and HED systems equipment.
- GE’s HED solutions operate efficiently up to cruise speed with superior low noise performance. HED motors can be used in a power-take-off mode to harness and convert shaft energy to supply electrical power.
Focused
GE continues to invest in technologies to meet the needs of future naval fleets:
- GE’s new lightweight composite LM2500 gas turbine enclosure is fully qualified and successfully shock-tested; the U.S. Navy DDG 51 destroyers will be the first program with a unit delivery. Benefits include lighter walls, improved acoustics, decreased wall temperature, reduced lifecycle costs, and easier access for sailors.
- GE’s LM2500+G4 gas turbine, with 27 units delivered or on order internationally, has been approved at 30.3 MW for U.S. Navy applications.
- Upgrading for more power is quick and easy now that all three GE LM2500 models have been shortened to the same length and footprint.
- Electric starters delivered on LM2500 family and LM500 gas turbines weigh 6,500 pounds less and offer a >70% volume reduction over hydraulic skids.
- GE’s HED onboard the U.S. Navy’s first hybrid-propelled ship, USS Makin Island (LHD 8), saved more than four million gallons of fuel during its seven-month maiden deployment, resulting in an estimated cost savings of $15 million.
- GE’s integrated power system helps propel the U.S. Navy’s first all-electric warship USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000), the largest stealth destroyer ever built for the U.S. Navy and the first of its kind in recent history to use an electric propulsion system with induction-based motors.
- GE, together with the Office of Naval Research, have developed a hybrid energy storage system (HESM) using the best characteristics of lithium batteries and ultra-capacitor technology, together with advanced controls, to meet energy storage and charge/discharge needs.
Own the Fight!
GE’s propulsion solutions are ready, agile and focused to provide solutions for the next U.S Navy surface combatants, the FFGX frigate (gas turbine and HED) and the Large Surface Combatant (HED or integrated electric drive):
- GE offers power-dense gas turbine and HED solutions.
- GE’s fully integrated electrical power and propulsion system uses proven technology.
- GE has supported the Royal Navy with HED technology; collaborations include the pioneering Type 23 class in the 1990s, full electric solutions on the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers, and now the HED system for the Type 26 Global Combat Ship.
- GE is the market leader in naval and industrial gas turbine generator sets; thousands of units also operate in power and oil and gas applications worldwide.
- GE’s Marine Power Test Facility is the only commercial land-based facility in the world capable of full-scale testing of integrated navy systems and naval ship architectures.
GE Digital Analytic Solutions
GE digital solutions extend the life of valuable assets, and enhance performance and mission readiness of naval operators:
- GE’s digital twins have delivered prognostics to industries for over a decade.
- GE’s Asset Performance Management (APM) software has been deployed in local and cloud environments, with digital twins, and in a matter of weeks.
- GE partners with U.S. Department of Defense customers to build digital twins today with five key components related to specific business outcomes: adaptability, differentiability by asset/system model, scalability, and continuous learning.
- GE’s APM is used by NAVSEA and Military Sealift Command (MSC) for condition-based maintenance programs, reducing unplanned maintenance and cost avoidance through early detection.
- GE APM is used by MSC onboard two T-AKE replenishment dry cargo ammunition vessels. This solution increases asset reliability and availability and reduces maintenance needs and associated operational expenditures.
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