General Electrics to supply propulsion systems for French Navy LSS.

According to a press release published by General Electrics on November 2, 2021, the first MV7000 drives for the LSS FLOTLOG program has successfully passed their Factory Acceptance Tests at GE Power Conversion Nancy Factory, reaching a first milestone for the new fleet of logistic support ships (LSS) of the French Navy.
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Ceremony of the cutting for the first sheet metal's LSS FLOTLOG (Picture source: OCCAR)

It follows the contract signed in 2020 between GE Power Conversion and Chantiers de l’Atlantique to provide systems for the four LSS to be built by the Shipyard for the French Navy, under the contract management of the Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation (OCCAR), on behalf of the French Armament General Directorate (Direction Générale de l’Armement).

The LSS main mission is to provide logistical support to deployed naval forces. It will replace the current single-hull oil tankers, which have been in service since the 1970’s and 1980’s. The four supply ships will be delivered by 2029.

By equipping these vessels with control systems similar to those installed on board other French Navy surface ships, propelled with GE solutions, the fleet will have commonalities – thereby simplifying management and maintenance for the customer.

The bâtiments ravitailleurs de forces, or BRF, are a class of future fleet tankers that are to replace the Durance-class-class units in French Navy service. Until January 2019, the programme was known as Flotte logistique (abbreviated FLOTLOG in military parlance).

Delivery of the first unit of the series had been expected in late 2022. However, in 2021 it was indicated that the delivery date for the first ship had slipped to 2023.