GE Marine has delivered two LM2500 marine aeroderivative gas turbines to ASC in Adelaide, Australia, in support of the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) third Hobart-class air warfare destroyer (AWD), HMAS Sydney.
RAN had awarded $8bn contract to ASC Alliance for the construction of three AWDs in HMAS Hobart, HMAS Brisbane and HMAS Sydney.
Based on GE’s CF6-6 aircraft engines, the LM2500 high-performance unit features a gas generator, a power turbine, attached fuel and lube oil pumps, a fuel control and speed governing system, as well as controls and devices for starting and monitoring engine operations.
Each AWD will be equipped with a combined diesel and gas (CODAG) propulsion system, which consists of two GE LM 2500 gas turbines and two diesel engines.
Also known as SEA 4000, the AWD programme involves construction and fabrication of 90 separate steel blocks, 30 for each ship, as well as three sonar blocks, one for each ship.
The AWD Alliance comprises ASC, the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) and Raytheon.
Based on the Navantia-designed F100 frigate, Hobart-class frigates will conduct missions such as anti-air, anti-surface, anti-submarine and naval gunfire, as well as simultaneous operations in a multi-warfare environment.
Armed with an Aegis combat system, which includes SPY-1D(V) radar, Mk41 vertical launch system (VLS), and an open architecture (OA) combat system, the AWD features advanced sonar systems, decoys and surface-launched torpedoes.
The LM2500 gas turbine engines were designed and developed at GE’s Evendale facility in Ohio, US, while the LM2500’s base and enclosure assemblies were built at Thales facility in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia.
Image: Australian Navy’s Hobart-class frigates are powered by LM2500 gas turbine engines. Photo: courtesy of AWD Alliance.
