GE Aerospace to provide marine gas turbine engines for South Korea’s KDDX destroyers

Rendering of the KDDX being put forward by Hanwha Ocean for South Korea's destroyer program. (Hanwha Ocean)

SINGAPORE — GE Aerospace has announced that its LM2500+G4 marine gas turbine engine will power new destroyers for South Korea’s Navy.

The company said in a press release on Tuesday that it will supply 12 LM2500+G4 engines for six KDDX-class ships being built for the Republic of Korea Navy (RoKN). No contract value was announced and South Korea’s defense ministry has not responded to questions from Breaking Defense.

“The LM2500+G4’s integration with KDDX’s full electric propulsion configuration offers the ships superior operational flexibility and fuel economy, power for future growth, and optimal survivability/redundancy,” said GE’s press release, adding that the engine would meet the power demands of the KDDX-class.

Asha Belarski, vice president and general manager of GE Aerospace’s marine engines and systems division , said that transitioning to a full electric propulsion system is a step towards the next generation of naval propulsion.

“We are honored to be a part of this project incorporating the latest advancements in shipbuilding. The selection of GE Aerospace’s LM2500+G4 technology strengthens our strong collaborations in Korea and demonstrates our commitment to local manufacturing,” Belarski said in a statement.

GE noted in its press release that the RoKN has procured 163 GE Aerospace marine gas turbines for 95 ships. Hanwha Aerospace, its South Korean partner, will manufacture various engine components locally along with assembling, testing, and providing service support.

Hanwha’s shipbuilding arm has already been announced as the preferred bidder for the KDDX , with Hanwha Ocean announcing in early July that it was chosen by South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) over rival Hyundai’s offer.

The company said it was still negotiating terms with the South Korean government for the contract. If clinched, the deal would see Hanwha Ocean carry out detailed design and construction of the lead ship of the class.

Each KDDX is expected to displace 7,000 tons with the entire program expected to cost 7.8 trillion won ($5.75 billion)

这是韩华海洋公司为韩国驱逐舰项目提交的KDDX型设计图。（韩华海洋）

新加坡——通用电气航空航天公司宣布，其LM2500+G4船用燃气轮机发动机将为韩国海军的新型驱逐舰提供动力。

该公司周二在一份新闻稿中表示，将为韩国海军建造的六艘KDDX级舰艇提供12台LM2500+G4发动机。合同金额尚未公布，韩国国防部也未回复Breaking Defense的置评请求。

通用电气的新闻稿称：“LM2500+G4 与 KDDX 全电力推进配置的集成，为舰艇提供了卓越的操作灵活性和燃油经济性、未来发展的动力以及最佳的生存能力/冗余性。”新闻稿还补充说，该发动机将满足 KDDX 级舰艇的动力需求。

通用电气航空航天公司船舶发动机和系统部门副总裁兼总经理阿莎·贝拉尔斯基表示，过渡到全电动推进系统是迈向下一代海军推进的一步。

“我们很荣幸能参与到这个项目中，该项目融合了造船领域的最新技术。选择GE航空航天公司的LM2500+G4技术，巩固了我们在韩国的紧密合作关系，也体现了我们对本地化生产的承诺，”贝拉尔斯基在一份声明中表示。

通用电气在新闻稿中指出，韩国海军已为95艘舰艇采购了163台通用电气航空航天公司的船用燃气轮机。其韩国合作伙伴韩华航空航天公司将在当地生产各种发动机部件，并负责组装、测试和提供售后服务。

韩华造船公司已被宣布为 KDDX 的首选竞标者，韩华海洋公司在 7 月初宣布，韩国国防采办计划管理局 (DAPA) 已选择该公司而非竞争对手现代的报价。

该公司表示仍在与韩国政府就合同条款进行谈判。如果最终达成协议，韩华海洋将负责该级船舶首舰的详细设计和建造。

每个KDDX预计可转移7000吨煤炭，整个项目预计耗资7.8万亿韩元（57.5亿美元）。