NNS Wins Contract To Design Ele<tri< Drive Motor For U.S. Navy

Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS), a division of Tenneco, has won a $15.6 million contract from the U.S. Navy to design a 25,000- hp electric motor that could lead to future ship propulsion systems.

The shipyard is also designing and building a half-size demonstration prototype motor for testing.

NNS is the lead company on the Permanent Magnet Electric Drive Propulsion Motor System project. Other team members are Northrop Grumman Marine Systems of Sunnyvale, Calif., and Kaman Electromagnetics Corp. of Hudson, Mass.

The motor under development is called an Axial Field Permanent Magnet Ship Propulsion System, and reportedly generates as much power as larger conventional motors. It is being developed for use on the Navy's next generation of surface warships, but could also be applied in commercial ships. A smaller motor aboard ship means more room for other valuable systems for cargo.

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