More power for US Navy's DDG-51 destroyers

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More power for US Navy's DDG-51 destroyers

Power surge

Increasing onboard electrical power for the US Navy's DDG-51 destroyers

Raw power

There are now over 70 DDG-51 destroyers in service with the US Navy – and thanks to Rolls-Royce, the class will now receive an increase in onboard electrical power.

Back in 2013, we supplied the 200th gas turbine generator set to the 63rd vessel in the Arleigh Burke (DDG51) class of destroyers, the USS John Finn (DDG 113) a Flight IIA configuration ship.

DDG-51 destroyers get their electrical power from three AG9140 generators installed on each vessel. They are a critical piece of equipment providing all electrical power for both onboard hotel services, radars and combat equipment. Now the class is being further updated to the Flight III configuration and is to get more power in the form of the new and uprated AG9160 generator sets.

Changes to the Flight III configuration have been mostly driven by new SPY-6 Air Missile Defence Radars (AMDR) that will replace the older SPY-1D phased array radars as the primary sensor for the Aegis combat system. It is intended to confer Flight III ships with an unmatched integrated air and missile (IAMD) capability.

The Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) class of destroyers has had the longest production run of any US Navy surface combatant. Rolls-Royce – then the Allison Division of General Motors Corporation – won the contract to develop and produce the generator sets for the first of class in 1986.

Proven technology

The AG9140 sets are powered by the 501-K34 gas turbine, which is derived from the T56 engine that powers the C130 Hercules transport aircraft, the workhorse of a number of the world’s armed forces. Earlier this year, Rolls-Royce secured the contract to supply new uprated Ship Service Gas Turbine Generator sets (SSGTG) for the Flight III variant of the class.

Delivering 4MW, the new AG9160 generator sets will provide the Flight III destroyers with more electrical power, feeding into a new electrical plant architecture to provide increased power to the radars and new high-efficiency air conditioning plants. It has been designed to meet DDG-51 MILSTD shock, noise and generator performance requirements.

To reduce risk, the AG9160 is based on existing proven technology, the RR4500 generator sets that provide a similar amount of power for the auxiliary and peaking power of the new all-electric DDG-1000 multi mission destroyers – the first, USS Zumwalt, was commissioned in 2016. But they retain the key attributes of the latest AG9140RF generator sets.

The AG9160 uses the reliable MT5S-HE+ gas turbine as the prime mover, and have the same footprint and are approximately the same weight as the lower powered AG9140 sets they will replace. This means no major ship design changes are required to accommodate them.

RR4500

AG9160

Increased operability

Over the years, the AG9140 gensets have delivered when called upon. They were powering the USS Cole when it sustained severe damage as the result of an Al-Qaeda-linked incident while anchored in the port of Aden. The ship’s chief engineer said that the damaged vessel was able to remain afloat because all the generator sets maintained a constant supply of power, keeping the pumps running and pumping water overboard, while emergency repairs were made.

It has also been regularly updated. The most recent advance was the introduction of the AG9140RF. The R indicates redundant independent mechanical start system (RIMSS), which means the genset is capable of a “black ship” start from batteries only, due to the built-in mechanical starter using the small Rolls-Royce model 250-KS4 gas turbine. Pneumatic air start is also fitted.

The F indicates full authority digital controls for the engine and generator set systems. These sets power the current Flight IIA DDG-51 destroyers and the same features are integrated into the AG9160. A model AG9140 is installed at the US Navy’s Land-Based Engineering Site (LBES) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where a complete shipboard machinery room for the DDG-51 has been simulated. The first AG9160 is scheduled to be delivered there later this year. The suite is used for simulation testing and crew training.

Other navies operating the AG9140 include Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Agency as well as the Republic of Korea Navy for their nation’s latest KDX-III, featuring the US Navy’s Aegis combat system.

This increases interoperability with the US Navy when defending the seas around the Korean peninsula. It has not yet been confirmed which ship will be the first Flight III variant. Based on available information it looks like it will be either DDG 125, Jack H Lucas, or DDG 126, Louis H Wilson.

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More power for US Navy's DDG-51 destroyers

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