PARIS, France - GE Marine Engines announced its LM2500 aeroderivative gas turbine has been selected to power four Horizon frigates. These next-generation, anti-aircraft Horizon frigates are being jointly developed by the French and Italian Navies, GE reported today at the Euronaval 2002 conference.
The eight LM2500 gas turbine propulsion packages will be provided to the shipyards through FiatAvio, Torino, Italy, a packager and supplier for GE Marine Engines.
"We are proud that this very important naval cooperation program in Europe will benefit from the world-leading LM2500. This gas turbine has a proven history of excellent performance and reliability in a wide variety of marine applications," said Karl Matson, general manager of GE Marine Engines.
According to Matson, "This project also marks the first use by the French Navy of GE's LM gas turbines. In fact, the French will be the 29th navy worldwide to use the LM2500. GE has delivered over 1,000 LM2500 gas turbines for diverse marine configurations, as well as for a variety of commercial marine and industrial applications."
Two GE LM2500 gas turbines, each rated at 27,500 shaft horsepower (shp), will be applied per Horizon frigate. The gas turbines will be in a Combined Diesel or Gas (CODOG) turbine configuration with two diesel engines. The 150-meter long frigate will be capable of reaching a top speed of 29 knots.
The gas turbines will be equipped with a digital fuel control system and a new Engine Control Unit (ECU) designed by FiatAvio.
DCN and Thomson-CSF created the Horizon joint venture company in October 2000 for the French part, and FINCANTIERI and Finmecanica for the Italian part. The two frigates for the Italian Navy will be built in Genova and La Spezia, and the two frigates for the French Navy will be built in DCN's Lorient shipyard.
The Horizon frigate will feature excellent range and endurance, as well as anti-surface and anti-submarine capabilities to conduct an extensive range of missions, support of lightly armed or unarmed vessels or operations as a single unit. The frigates will also feature a state-of-the-art electronic warfare suite.
GE Marine Engines at its Evendale, Ohio facility will manufacture the LM2500 gas turbines. FiatAvio will provide the ECU and the engine kits, and will place the LM2500s into propulsion packages at its Brindisi, Italy facility. The four frigates are scheduled to enter service between 2006 and 2009.
The FiatAvio business unit MEBU (Marine Engines Business Unit) " Marine & Automation " designs, engineers and produces marine modules for GE's LM2500 gas turbine, as well as electronic automation systems for military and commercial naval vessels, which range from propulsion control and monitoring systems to auto-pilot and steering control systems for ships and submarines. Visit FiatAvio online at http://www.fiatavio.it
GE Marine Engines is part of GE Aircraft Engines and is headquartered in Evendale, Ohio. GE Marine Engines is the world's largest designer, developer and manufacturer of aeroderivative gas turbines for a variety of commercial and military marine propulsion applications. Visit GE Marine Engines on the worldwide web at www.geae.com.