GE engine selected for Indian Next Generation Missile Vessel
GE Aerospace’s LM2500 marine gas turbine. (Photo: GE Aerospace)
The GE Aerospace LM2500, already at use in frigates within the Indian Navy, will power the new craft.
The Indian Navy’s Next Generation Missile Vessel (NGMV) has moved significantly towards completion and active service with the announcement of the engine that will power the craft.
The GE Aerospace LM2500, a marine gas turbine with significant history within the Indian Navy, has been chosen as the heart of the NGMV, and six LM2500 kits have been scheduled to be delivered to Cochin Shipyard Limited in Kochi, India. The turbines will be assembled and tested by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Industrial and Marine Gas Turbine Division in Bangalore. GE Aerospace will also supply its own composite base and enclosure, and a full complement of gas turbine auxiliary systems to help push the NGMV forward to its active service.
The fleet of six NGMVs were deemed a necessity for India’s defence posture in the country’s Technology Perspective and Capability Roadmap 2018, on the understanding that they would support missile systems and surveillance radars. They will be armed with Indo-Russian BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, along with a range of shorter-range weaponry to defend against interference.
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While the timeline for delivery of the NGMVs remained highly speculative, Shephard Defence Insight estimated that the choice of the turbines in 2024 could lead to the delivery of the first vessel in the fleet by circa 2027, and the last by 2032.
The fleet of six vessels will cost around US$1.2 billion, meaning each ship will carry an estimated price tag of $198.5 million.
GE Aerospace and HAL have history working together: so far, HAL has assembled and tested all of the LM2500 gas turbines that power the Indian Navy's P17 and P17A frigates, as well as the IAC-1 Vikrant aircraft carrier. In 2023, the companies signed an MOU to explore the expansion of their capabilities to include assembly, inspection and testing of the LM500 marine gas turbine.
That MOU will help inform the assembly and testing of the turbines for the new NGMVs.
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