GE Gas Turbines for Japan’s JS Asahi Destroyer

Two GE LM2500 marine gas turbines power the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Forces (JMSDF) newest destroyer JS Asahi (DD119). This first of two new destroyers in the JMSDF’s Asahi-class destroyer program was recently commissioned by the JMSDF. The ship was built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) at its Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works in Japan.

“We work in concert with IHI, our longstanding partner in Japan, to supply LM2500 marine gas turbines to the JMSDF for this new destroyer and other surface combatant programs,” said GE’s Brien Bolsinger, Vice President, Marine Operations. “All of our marine gas turbines provide flexibility to naval architects and designers so mission profiles and speed requirements can easily be met. In this case, the LM2500s are configured in a combined diesel or gas turbine electric arrangement with two electric motors,” Bolsinger added.

The second destroyer in this class, JS Shiranui (DD120), was launched by MHI in October 2017; sea trials for this ship are slated for late 2018. 

IHI handles in-country design, manufacture and testing of the LM2500 propulsion modules and LM500 gensets for all of the JMSDF and GE military marine programs and delivers them to shipyards.  In fact, including the aforementioned new destroyer program, the JMSDF uses LM2500 gas turbines for its Izumo-, Kongou-, Murasame-, Atago-, and Hyuga-class ships. 

IHI has packaged, tested and delivered more than 235 GE LM marine and industrial gas turbines, and offers complete overhaul capability for both GE’s LM2500 and LM6000 family of engines.