The Indian Navy’s newest carrier, the Vikrant, was commissioned earlier this month with four LM2500 engines from
GE Marine powering the ship with 88MW, giving it a maximum speed of 28 knots. The addition of the Vikrant to the Indian Navy’s fleet is seen as ‘a significant accomplishment’ for the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, as 76% of the content is indigenous, adding India to an ‘elite group of nations’ with indigenous aircraft carriers (IACs). With the commissioning of the Vikrant, the Indian Navy has 18 GE Marine engines in service, with additional engines in production to support the ongoing Project 17A frigate construction.
The IAC project started in 2007, and when
GE Marine was selected it announced that LM2500 marine gas turbines would power the ship and be built by Indian partner Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). The 262m-long carrier has 14 decks, can accommodate a crew of 1,700, and can operate 30 aircraft. For more than 30 years, GE has worked with HAL, which assembles, inspects, and tests all LM2500 gas turbines built for the Indian Navy.
The LM2500 gas turbine kits were manufactured at GE’s facility in Evendale, Ohio (the USA), and assembled and tested by HAL’s Industrial and Marine Gas Turbine Division in Bangalore, India. HAL is one of the world’s leading aerospace companies involved in the manufacture and maintenance of aircraft, helicopters, avionics and aerospace defence equipment.
GE has delivered gas turbines onboard 633 naval ships worldwide and provides 95% of the commissioned propulsion gas turbines in the US Navy fleet. GE Marine’s gas turbine business is part of GE Aviation and is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.