The Indian Navy’s newest carrier, the Vikrant, has been commissioned with four LM2500 engines powering the ship with 88 MW giving her a maximum speed of 28 knots.
Indian Navy
The addition of the Vikrant to the Indian Navy’s fleet is a significant achievement for the Government’s “Make In India” initiative, as 76% of the content is indigenous, said India to an elite group of nations with indigenous aircraft carriers (IAC). With the commissioning of the Vikrant, the Indian Navy has 18 GE Marine engines in service, with additional engines in production to help the ongoing Project 17A ship construction.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
The IAC project began in 2007, and when selected, GE Marine declared the LM2500 marine gas turbines would power the ship and be built by Indian partner Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The 262-meter-long carrier has 14 decks, can accommodate a crew of 1,700, and is capable of handling 30 aircraft.
The Vikrant underwent four phases of sea trials of major equipment and systems between August 2021 and July 2022.
“On this monumental day for the Indian Navy, having commissioned their 1st indigenous aircraft carrier, GE Marine is proud to be the power behind its propulsion. We are committed to helping India’s indigenous military programs through our long-standing in-country relationships.”
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 Evendale, Ohio, facility and assembled and tested by HAL’s Industrial & Marine Gas Turbine Division in Bangalore, India. HAL is one of the world’s leading aerospace companies interested in the manufacture and maintenance of aircraft, helicopters, avionics, and aerospace defense equipment.
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With the world’s most market-dominant gas turbine from GE, the Indian Navy and 39 other navies in almost the world have worldwide support, whether onshore or at sea, and interoperability benefits with other allied ships.
GE has delivered gas turbines onboard 633 naval ships worldwide and given 95% of the commissioned propulsion gas turbines in the United States Navy fleet.
With the LM2500’s outstanding track record of being ready for the fight, coupled with its ease of maintenance and global support, the LM2500 continues to be the gas turbine of choice of the world’s navies.
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