Rolls-Royce to power ten littoral combat ships for the U.S. Navy

Rolls-Royce will supply gas turbines and waterjets for ten of the U.S. Navy’s Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) – the Group’s largest ever marine naval surface ship contract.

Designed to operate in combat zones close to the shore (littoral waters), each LCS will be equipped with two Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbines powering four large waterjets, enabling the vessels to reach speeds in excess of 40 knots. At 36 megawatts, the MT30 is the world’s most powerful marine gas turbine. Combining this power with Rolls-Royce waterjets makes the LCS highly manoeuvrable, able to operate in shallow waters and to stop and accelerate quickly.

Rolls-Royce is already supplying propulsion equipment on the first two Lockheed Martin vessels and today’s announcement extends this with one firm order and options for a further nine ships of the same design.

The MT30 is the latest development of Rolls-Royce marine gas turbines, and has also been selected for the UK Royal Navy’s new Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers and the U.S. Navy’s DDG-1000 Zumwalt class destroyer programme.