Rolls-Royce establishes Naval Marine organisation to serve US

Chantilly, VA - Rolls-Royce today unveiled the structure of a dedicated U.S. marine organization to provide the complete range of products and services to the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and naval defense contractors in the shipbuilding and ship maintenance business. The Rolls-Royce facility in Walpole, MA, (formerly the Bird-Johnson Company,) has been designated as the lead site for Rolls-Royce Naval Marine, Inc. in North America.

Tuesday, 8 May 2001

Rolls-Royce believes its naval business in the U.S. will continue to grow as customers increasingly look to companies that can provide equipment and systems or service packages from a single source - simplifying the supply chain, enabling greater product integration and reducing costs and risk. Since the acquisition of Vickers plc in 1999, Rolls-Royce marine capabilities have grown significantly and the company now offers a wide ranging portfolio, including gas turbines, propellers, podded propulsors, waterjets, stabilizers, steering gear and deck handling equipment.

Saul Lanyado, President - Marine for Rolls-Royce, said: "We are a global company serving 30 navies worldwide, but the ability to offer local support is crucial to our success. This new role for our Walpole facility is part of that strategy. "

"It is particularly fitting that Walpole takes up this role. The site has strong links with the U.S. Navy, having supplied every new U.S. Navy surface combatant ship class with controllable pitch propellers for the last 30 years, and has a strong tradition of customer partnering."

The Smart Propulsor Product Model program, a contract with the U.S. Navy's Naval Sea Systems Command, is an example of this partnering approach. Rolls-Royce Naval Marine is using its design and manufacturing experience to evaluate cost impacts of propulsor designs in a virtual environment.

The company's early involvement in the development process will enable the U.S. Navy to select propulsors with the best performance at an affordable life-cycle cost.

Rolls-Royce is also applying the latest propeller technology to the LSD 41/49 class, which will provide a fuel efficiency improvement of over six per cent --- even before load management and maintenance savings are added.

Rolls-Royce software algorithms control propulsion systems on DDG-51, AOE-6 and LPD-17 vessels, and turbine overload protection systems operate on DD-963, DDG-993 and CG-47 classes.

Rolls-Royce supplies the U.S. Navy with gas turbine generators, including those for the current DDG-51 class. Almost 300 Model 501 gas turbines provide auxiliary power for all U.S. Navy destroyers and cruisers, with almost ten million hours of operating experience.

    * Other Rolls-Royce products now available to the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard include: Water jets - the Kamewa range, from 90kW to 50MW, covers vessel types from pilot launches and patrol craft to the fastest commercial ferries and freighters;
    * Pods - the commercially proven Mermaid?electric pod propulsion system, at 5-25MW, is an attractive option for naval vessels;
    * Stabilisers and steering gear - Rolls-Royce fixed fin stabilisers are standard on FFG-7 class frigates. The company also offers Brown Brothers non-retractable stabilizers for naval vessels in ranges from 0.85m?to 16.5m? Steering gear covers all vessel types; and
    * Underway Replenishment Systems - Rolls-Royce offers a range of automated, electrically-powered replenishment and refuelling at sea systems consistent with the all-electric ship concept.

Our commitment to innovation and technology doesn't end there. The AWJ-21, an innovative concept for applying proven waterjet technology in an underwater discharge configuration, is currently under development, in cooperation with the U.S. Navy's Office of Naval Research.

The numerous advantages of the AWJ-21 include markedly improved cavitation performance, enhanced low speed maneuvering, higher efficiency, elimination of exposed shafting, struts and rudders, reduced ship draft and lower torque -- thus reducing overall machinery weight.

Presently, Rolls-Royce is carrying out hydrodynamic model tests. This scale model testing will be followed by a quarter-scale technology demonstrator program wherein a 1.5 MW AWJ-21 will be tested at sea in a craft capable of 30 knots fitted with electric drive. This will validate the powering, maneuvering, and cavitation characteristics and help predict the performance of larger configurations such as those required for surface combatant ships of the future.

Rolls-Royce also supports the Northrop Grumman led advanced cycle WR-21 marine gas turbine.

Northrop Grumman's Marine Systems business, based in Sunnyvale, CA, is prime contractor for the WR-21 engine program, with overall responsibility for engineering and systems integration. Rolls-Royce has designed and developed the gas generator and power turbine. The WR-21 is currently being qualified for U.S. Navy applications in conjunction with the Royal Navy and French Navy at the DCN Indret facility, near Nantes, France.

Last month, Northrop Grumman and Rolls-Royce plc were awarded a contract worth approximately $120 million by prime contractor BAE SYSTEMS to supply 12 WR-21 marine gas turbine packages for the first six ships of a new twelve ship fleet of Type 45 air defense destroyers for the Royal Navy.

The U.S. Department of Defense is Rolls-Royce's largest defense customer, with projects including the AV-8B Harrier, C-130J Hercules, V-22 Osprey, T-45 Goshawk and Joint Strike Fighter.