Rolls-Royce Achieves 50th MT30 gas turbine for Japan's 30FFM frigate.

The new turbine made by Rolls-Royce will be the second MT30 to be delivered to Japan. The two MT30s will be part of eight engines for the 30FFM Batch 1 programme and is anticipated to enter service with the JMSDF in 2022.

Rolls Royce, MT30 gas turbine (Picture source: Rolls Royce)

The marine gas turbine is the 50th MT30 to come off the company’s build line and is intended to be delivered to Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) in Japan. Once the MT30 is received, KHI will build and assemble it into a compact package engine enclosure. After the installation, KHI will put the 30FFM propulsion system under an integrated shore trial.

Rolls-Royce Defence Pacific Rim senior vice-president Sam Cameron said: “Japan has traditionally been one of the principal users of Rolls-Royce marine products, particularly gas turbines, so they are a very important customer and delivering the 50th MT30 is a very important milestone. We look forward to continuing to grow the footprint of the MT30 in the region.

Japan became the fifth country to choose the marine gas turbine solution. The turbine which entered service in 2008 also powers other naval platforms, including the US Navy’s Freedom-class littoral combat ship and DDG-1000 destroyer, the UK Royal Navy’s Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers and the Type 26 global combat ship, the Republic of Korea Navy’s Daegu-class frigate and the Italian Navy’s landing helicopter dock.

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) 30FFM, formerly known as 30DD or 30DX, is a class of multipurpose frigates intended to conduct maritime surveillance in waters surrounding Japan. These frigates are powered by a Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbine allowing a top speed of 30 knots along with two diesel MAN engines in a Combined Diesel and Gas (CODAG) arrangement. The weapon system includes eight XSSM supersonic anti-ship missiles, one SeaRAM close-in weapon system and 32 ESSM surface-to-air missiles as well as a 127mm Mark 45 Mod 4 naval gun. The ships are equipped with 8 or 16 vertical launching system (VLS) cells that may home anti-submarine rockets as well as a longer range surface-to-air missiles in addition to the ESSM missiles. The engine is capable of providing up to 43mw of power from a very small package.