GE Marine has secured a contract to deliver LM2500 marine gas turbines to power Pakistan Navy’s new MILGEM multipurpose corvettes. The contract was awarded by Savunma Teknolojileri Mühendislik Ve Ticaret (STM), the main propulsion system integrator for the ships. All MILGEM ships’ propulsion system feature one LM2500 gas turbine in a combined diesel and gas turbine configuration with two diesel engines. The total propulsion power is 31,600KW. As agreed, GE will manufacture the gas turbines at its Evendale facility in Ohio, US. The marine gas turbine business is a part of GE Aviation.
GE Marine Marine Operations vice-president Kris Shepherd said: “We are delighted to provide the Pakistan Navy with our proven LM2500 gas turbine to power these new MILGEM corvettes. Our LM2500 gas turbines are reliably logging operating hours onboard the Turkish Navy’s four MILGEM corvettes, the first of which was commissioned in 2011.” GE Marine has delivered 24 LM2500 turbines for the Turkish Navy’s Barbaros and Gabya class frigates and 1,200 units overall for 39 international navies and several industrial applications globally.
MILGEM project is a national warship program of the Republic of Turkey. Managed by the Turkish Navy, the project aims at developing multipurpose corvettes and frigates that can be deployed in a range of missions, including reconnaissance, surveillance, early warning, anti-submarine warfare, surface-to-surface and surface-to-air warfare, and amphibious operations. The MILGEM project covers four Ada class anti-submarine warfare corvettes and one ELINT corvette, four Istanbul class multipurpose frigates and TF2000 class anti-air warfare destroyers destined for the Turkish Navy,
On 5 July 2018, the Pakistan Navy awarded a contract to Turkish defence contractor Askeri Fabrika ve Tersane Ä°ÅŸletme (ASFAT) for four MILGEM corvettes. Two of these ships will be made in Turkey and the remaining two in Pakistan. By September 2018, some details have emerged that corvettes for Pakistan Navy will have CODAD propulsion system instead of CODAG, thus increasing the sea endurance from 10 to 15 days. Further, the first vessel is planned to be constructed in 54 months and the remaining vessels will be constructed in 60, 66 and 72 months, respectively.
