Fairbanks Morse, an EnPro Industries company and leading provider of solutions that are powering the world forward, has been awarded a contract to build and deliver the four main propulsion diesel engines (MPDE) for the sixth ship in the US Navy’s Expeditionary Transfer Dock (ESD)/Expeditionary Sea Base (ESB) program.
The ESB 6 will be constructed by General Dynamics NASSCO in San Diego, California, and the MPDEs will be built by Fairbanks Morse at its Beloit, Wisconsin, manufacturing facility.
“We are extremely proud of our history in supporting the US Navy with our engines and systems. As an American manufacturer of medium speed engines, we place significant value on innovation and working with a partner like the US Navy has helped us deliver the reliability, fuel efficiency and cost savings needed to enable the Navy to spend less time on engine maintenance and more time keeping our shores safe,” said Fairbanks Morse President Deepak Navnith. “We’re pleased to be working with General Dynamics NASSCO to deliver these impressive power systems for the US Navy’s ESD/ESB program.”
The four FM | MAN 6L48/60 Common Rail (CR) engines are each rated at 6,480 kW and will deliver a total of 25,920 kW of installed power. The common rail system technology uses a common high-pressure fuel header, high-pressure pumps, electronically controlled fuel delivery, electronic governing system, and a new control system to deliver a precise amount of fuel throughout all engine operations. The common rail technology will deliver improved specific fuel consumption at all operating points, resulting in significant savings by the US Navy over the operational lifetime of the power systems.
Fairbanks Morse has manufactured 72 FM | MAN 48/60 A engines for NASSCO for the T-AKE and ESD/ESB programs. The ESB 5 & 6 ships each have the next generation of FM | MAN 48/60 engines with CR technology which increases power output, improves engine responsiveness, reduces weight, lowers fuel consumption, and has better combustion for improved emissions. Another benefit of the CR technology is that it can be back fitted onto earlier generations of FM | MAN 48/60 A engines that are already in the Navy fleet.
“Fairbanks Morse has made significant financial investments in the Beloit manufacturing facility to accommodate the new generation 48/60CR product and these facility upgrades ensure that FM will continue to be a strong provider of diesel engines to the US Navy for years to come,” added Navnith.
The ESBs are configured with a 52,000 square-foot flight deck, fuel and equipment storage, repair spaces, magazines, mission planning spaces and accommodations for up to 250 personnel. The ships are capable of supporting multiple missions including Air Mine Counter Measures (AMCM), counter-piracy operations, maritime security operations, humanitarian aid and disaster relief missions, and US Marine Corps crisis response. They will also support MH-53 and MH-60 helicopters and will be upgraded to support MV-22 tilt rotor aircraft.
The US Navy has turned to Fairbanks Morse for over 70 years to provide quality diesel engines for marine propulsion and ship service systems. Today, Fairbanks Morse engines are installed on approximately 80 percent of US Navy ships that have a medium speed power application.
