Page 39: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (March 2, 2005)

March 2005 39 tomers worldwide.

The two companies collaborated to provide a

COmbined Diesel And Gas turbine (CODAG) arrange- ment to power four of the South African Navy's next generation MEKO A-200 corvettes. Each corvette uses one GE LM2500 gas turbine and two 5.9-megawatt

MTU 16V 1163 TB93 diesel engines to drive two inde- pendent controllable pitch propellers through intercon- nected, three-speed gearboxes. The GE LM2500 is connected via a reduction gearbox with the waterjet.

The first corvette was commissioned in mid-2004.

On the commercial marine front, the GE/MTU part- nership worked with SNCM in France on the Corsaire 13000 fast ferry.

The companies are also worked with the Maritime

Company of Lesvos in Greece on the Corsaire 14000- class fast ferry, which uses two LM2500+ gas turbines supplied by MTU in a CODAG configuration with two diesel engines.

The 140-m long Corsaire 14000 cruises at a speed of 42 knots on its route from Piraeus to the Island of

Lesvos in Greece. The fast ferry began commercial service in the summer of 2001.

LCS Design, Construction

Commences

The U.S. Navy awarded a Lockheed Martin-led team $188.2 million to commence detail design and con- struction of the first Flight 0 Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), the new class of naval combatant designed to dominate the world's coastal waters. The option was exercised under the LCS final system design contract, awarded to the Lockheed Martin team in May 2004. "Today we take the next step toward delivering this needed capability to the Fleet," said Assistant

Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and

Acquisition John J. Young, Jr. "Just two years after we awarded the first contracts, we're signing a contract to build the first LCS. This was made possible by great support from Congress and industry, which both teamed with the Navy so we can provide the fleet with greater capability and flexibility to meet mission requirements."

The Lockheed Martin team began construction of the lead ship at Marinette Marine in Marinette, Wis., and will deliver it to the U.S. Navy in late 2006. The team is using common tools and proven processes to ensure a seamless transition from design to construction for on-time and on-budget delivery. "We are honored to partner with the U.S. Navy to build the lead LCS and provide the first ever ship in this transformational new class of surface combatants," said Carol Hulgus, vice president and general manag- er of Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems & Sensors'

Littoral Ships & Systems line of business. "Our excep- tional design for a flexible, maneuverable and high- performance ship is combined with our team's proven experience in delivering ships on schedule and cost."

The Lockheed Martin team design, a proven semi- planing steel monohull, provides outstanding agility and high-speed maneuverability with known seakeep- ing characteristics to support launch and recovery operations, mission execution and optimum crew com- fort. The Lockheed Martin-led team includes naval architect Gibbs & Cox and ship builders Marinette

Marine, a subsidiary of The Manitowoc Company,

Inc., and Bollinger Shipyards and best-of-industry domestic and international teammates to provide a low-risk,

Alan C. McClure Associates (ACMA), was selected by Unidynamics to design a fully-articulating ramp for the LCS.

This assignment is part of a contract recently secured by Unidynamics to provide shipboard equipment han- dling systems and shell door structures. "LCS takes the operational Navy into a higher tacti- cal speed regime, and is a net-centric focal point," said

Rear Adm. Charles Hamilton, program executive officer for ships. "It also will fundamentally alter the ship/mission sys- tem integration paradigm, through extensive use of modularity. The acquisition of LCS sets a new stan- dard for rapid procurement in support of the warfight- er.”

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