GE Marine Turbines Power USS CINCINNATI
GE Marine’s LM2500 gas turbines now power the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) USS CINCINNATI (LCS 20), which was commissioned into the United States Navy’s fleet on October 5 in Gulfport, Mississippi.
“GE’s skilled and diverse workforce built the LM2500 marine gas turbines used to power this sophisticated surface combatant at GE Aviation’s manufacturing facility in Evendale, Ohio, a few minutes-drive from downtown Cincinnati,” said GE’s Kris Shepherd, Vice President, General Manager, Marine Operations. “The October 5 commissioning is another way to celebrate GE’s pride for the LCS 20, its namesake city and GE’s contribution to U.S. national security,” he added.
Shepherd was amongst a half dozen GE employees from the Cincinnati area that attended the commissioning ceremony on behalf of the company. Included was Steve Maynard, Director, Customer Application Engineering with GE Marine. Maynard is a retired U.S. Navy Captain as well as an active board member and the immediate past president of the Greater Cincinnati chapter of the Navy League of the United States.
Each of the two GE LM2500 engines produce over 29,500 horsepower, propelling the USS CINCINNATI to speeds in excess of 40 knots or 46 miles per hour. The LCS Independence-class fleet (even number ships) are built by Austal USA at its Mobile, Alabama, shipyard. To date, GE has contracts to provide LM2500 gas turbines for ships up to LCS 38.
LCS 20 is the fifth ship in naval history to be named Cincinnati with the first an integral part of the Civil War; the second served during the Cuban Revolution and the Spanish-American War; the third acting in World War II; and the fourth, commissioned in 1978 and serving during the Cold War.
GE’s LM2500 family of gas turbines is ideal for next-generation programs of the U.S. Navy: FFG(X) frigates and the Large Surface Combatants. With a GE gas turbine, the U.S. Navy has worldwide support whether onshore or at sea, and interoperability benefits with other U.S. Navy and allies’ vessels. GE provides 97% of the commissioned propulsion gas turbines in the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard surface combatant fleets. GE has delivered marine gas turbines onboard 646 naval ships serving a total of 35 navies worldwide.