Constellation class frigate [Image: Fincantieri Marine Group]
Fincantieri Marinette Marine (FMM), Marinette, Wis., has awarded a $16,672,953 firm-fixed-fee modification to beforehand awarded contract N00024-20-C-2300. The award is for procurement of long-lead time materials for the land-based engineering testing website for the Constellation-class frigate.
Work will likely be carried out in Camden, N.J., (75.53%); Houston, (14.66%); Mokena, Ill. (2.31%); and Marinette, Wis. (7.50%), and is predicted to be accomplished by October 1, 2025. Fiscal 2023 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding within the quantity of $16,672,953 will likely be obligated on the time of award and won’t expire on the finish of the present fiscal 12 months. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion, and Repair, Bath, Maine, is the contracting exercise.
While the Constellation-class makes use of the identical energy dense GE LM2500+G4 gasoline turbine because the parent-class Italian Navy FREMM frigates in a COmbined Diesel eLectric And Gas turbine (CODLAG) propulsion system, that is the preliminary U.S. Navy use of the LM2500+G4 engine.
As the ship’s Combined Diesel Electric and Gas Hull, Mechanical and Electrical (HM&E) drive prepare has not beforehand been used on U.S. Navy ships, Congress positioned a requirement for land primarily based testing in Section 125 of the FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act. According to a Congressional Research Service report on the frigate program, it “requires the Navy to begin, previous to the supply of the primary FFG-62, a land- primarily based take a look at program for the FFG-62 engineering plant (i.e., its propulsion system and associated equipment).
The provision specifies how the take a look at program is to be performed and requires the Navy to finish the take a look at program not later than the date on which the primary FFG-62 is scheduled to be accessible for tasking by operational navy commanders.”
