GE Marine awarded contract to supply engines for Indian P17A frigates.

GE Marine will provide gas turbine auxiliary equipment for the LM2500 engines that will power the Indian Navy’s new P17A frigates. This contract is with India-based Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) and Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE), GE reported last week at the Aero India trade exhibition.

Indian Navy P17-class frigate Satpura (F-48) transits the Indian Ocean during Exercise Malabar 2012 (Picture source : U.S. Navy / 3rd class Christopher Farrington)

Under the contract, GE will provide gas turbine auxiliary equipment for seven ships to support the 14 LM2500 engines previously supplied under a separate contract. Auxiliary equipment and services will include: gas turbine controller, intakes and uptakes, firefighting equipment, water wash, start skid, fuel forwarding and field service support to shipyards. Electric starters for the gas turbines also will be included in the auxiliary equipment contract; these starters weigh 6,500 pounds less and offer a >70% volume reduction over hydraulic starters.

Each P17A frigate will be powered by two GE LM2500 marine gas turbines and two diesel engines in a combined diesel or gas turbine configuration. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Industrial and Marine Gas Turbine division, Bangalore, India, is assembling the LM2500 gas turbines in-country under license from GE.

“GE is proud to provide the auxiliary equipment for the Indian Navy’s P17A frigates. As one of the world’s leading manufacturers of marine propulsion products, GE can deliver a reliable, fully-integrated gas turbine solution that is customized to suit and support the requirements of the Indian Navy,” said Vishal Wanchoo, President and CEO, GE South Asia. “GE will also handle the design work for the P17A’s gas turbine auxiliary system and gas turbine fuel supply system and will provide training to the shipyards and Indian Navy for these systems,” added Wanchoo.

GE’s in-country partner HAL has already delivered 11 LM2500 gas turbines to the Indian Navy, including those that power three P17 frigates Shivalik, Satpura and Sahyadri launched in April 2003, June 2004, and May 2005, respectively. Separately, four GE LM2500 gas turbines will power India’s first indigenously built P71 aircraft carrier; it was launched in August 2013.

Worldwide there are more than 1,200 GE LM2500 marine gas turbines logging over 16 million hours for 33 navies. GE provides 97% of the United States Navy’s propulsion gas turbines, proven at sea with >99% reliability and >98% availability. The company’s global installed base and nine licensed depots worldwide ensure operability and support either on-shore or afloat. With GE’s split casing compressor and power turbine design, in-situ maintenance is allowed making gas turbine removals unnecessary; navies save millions of dollars a year and weeks/months of ship unavailability.