FME Powers the Navy's First Littoral Combat Ship (LCS)
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September 23rd, 2006
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Beloit, Wisconsin - Fairbanks Morse's Colt-Pielstick 16 PA6B STC diesel engines took to the Menominee River aboard the USS Freedom (LCS-1) during its christening
ceremony held in Marinette, Wisconsin, on Saturday September 23rd. The USS Freedom is the first Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) to join the U.S. Navy's surface fleet.
Fairbanks Morse Engine, an EnPro Industries Company, teamed with defense contractor Lockheed Martin who built the USS Freedom along with Marinette Marine. Fairbanks Morse manufactured, tested, and delivered two (2) Colt-Pielstick 16 PA6B STC diesel engines that provide more than 17,000 brake horsepower (bhp) for Freedom's propulsion system. The PA6B engines can operate independently or jointly with two Rolls Royce MT30 gas turbines to drive four water jets that propel the ship at speeds greater than 45 knots.
“The USS Freedom will be the first LCS ship delivered to the U.S. Navy,” said Dan Bowman, Vice President Marketing and Sales for Fairbanks Morse Engine. “The Fairbanks Morse Colt-Pielstick PA6B engines are an innovative solution for low-speed, high-torque performance capabilities essential to littoral water operations.” Fairbanks Morse will deliver two more PA6B diesel engines for Lockheed Martin's next LCS later this year.
The LCS is an entirely new breed of U.S. Navy warship. A fast, agile, and networked surface combatant, Littoral Combat Ships provide Special Operations Forces support and high-speed transit and are specially designed as a base for maritime interdiction operations, intelligence gathering, surveillance, reconnaissance, and anti-terrorism protection.
About Fairbanks Morse Engine
Since the company's inception in the 1870s, Fairbanks Morse Engine in Beloit, Wisconsin, has been a worldwide leader in engine technology and manufacturing. Today, the core business of Fairbanks Morse Engine, an EnPro Industries company, is to provide its customers the highest quality diesel engines and generator sets, dual fuel engine generator sets, OEM replacement parts, and knowledgeable field service support. Primary markets include stationary power generation and marine propulsion for the United States Navy and commercial markets. |
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