Gas Turbines for LHD Assault Ship

GE Marine Engines announced it has received partial funding to begin the engineering work on equipment to be used on the U.S. Navy’s eighth LHD Wasp-class large-deck, multipurpose amphibious assault ship. The ship will be powered by two GE LM2500+ aeroderivative gas turbines, with GE main reduction gearing (two gearboxes). This marks the first military application of GE’s LM2500+ gas turbine. Currently there are 20 LM2500+ in or slated for operation worldwide on various commercial fast ferries and cruise ships.

The LM2500+s each will have the U.S. Navy rating of 35,000 shaft horsepower for the LHD application. The ship will also feature a unique hybrid electric drive system, with electric motors providing propulsion power at low loitering speeds. The previous seven LHD ships, also designed and built by Ingalls, were powered by steam propulsion systems.
Six of the huge ships, designed to carry some 2000 Marines, have already been delivered to the U.S. Navy by Ingalls, and are active in the Fleet. LHD 7, recently christened Iwo Jima, is under construction and will be delivered in mid-2001. The ships are fully capable of amphibious assault, advance force and special purpose operations, as well as noncombatant evacuation and other humanitarian missions. The ships are 844 feet long and displace 40,500 tons.