THE NFORCER FM 175D ENGINE IS DESIGNED FOR A HOST OF HIGH-SPEED APPLICATIONS

Fairbanks Morse Defense is expanding its naval defense capabilities by offering the nForcer FM 175D engine, the defense contractor’s first engine designed for high-speed applications.

Offering more power density than competing highspeed engines in the marketplace, the nForcer FM 175D has been specially designed to support the substantial power and propulsion needs of the US Navy’s unmanned programs, reports the company.

George Whittier, company CEO for Fairbanks Morse Defense, comments: “The US Navy’s future fleet will be electric, and the power requirements for each vessel to support advanced weapons and detection systems alongside standard operations will be greater than anything else we’ve seen over the past 20-30 years,”

He explains: “Fairbanks Morse Defense has provided the US Navy with some of the most trusted power and propulsion systems on the planet for nearly 100 years, making us uniquely qualified to support the Navy’s future efforts to protect the freedom of the seas with this high-speed engine.”

The nForcer FM 175D engine will be available with 12, 16, or 20-cylinders and includes a 175 mm bore for mechanical or electric propulsion for onboard power generation.

It operates at 1800 to 2000 RPMs and has a power output rating of 1740 – 4400 kW, making it one of the most power-dense high-speed engines available for maritime use, reports the company.

Current projections have the nForcer FM 175D engine ready to integrate with US naval fleets by 2025-26.

Fairbanks Morse Defense said the nForcer FM 175D engine has emerged from the company’s Technology Center of Excellence, which has consolidated FMD’s emerging technologies into one platform.

This platform includes Artificial Intelligence (AI), Digital Defenses, SMART Engineering Solutions, Uncrewed Mission Management and FM OnBoard.

With a Power Range of 1,740 - 4,440 kWb, the new FM 175 D+ engine boasts a clear and compact design intended to deliver continuous, reliable performance. Maximum power output at lowest weight makes the FM 175 D+ the superior choice, says the manufacturer. A company spokesman said: “Whether you’re patrolling in low-load mode or cruising at full power, the easy handling and high availability of the 175 D+ allows you to focus entirely on your mission.”

Key advantages of the new engine include: an advanced electronic common rail injection system; an engine-mounted control system; a high efficiency turbocharger; low operating and lifecycle costs; four auxiliary power take-offs; and long maintenance intervals and service life.

Greater emphasis on the ‘electric ship’ in the US Navy

The US Navy has put a substantial amount into the development of electrical power systems in its fleet: the US$7.5 billion Zumwalt-class destroyer, for example, is described as an “electric ship”.

Zumwalt is the first US Naval surface combatant to feature all-electric propulsion. The DDG 1000 integrates an all-electric drive with an integrated power system (IPS) consisting of two main turbine generators (MTG), two auxiliary turbine generators (ATG) and two 34.6MW advanced induction motors (AIM).

The Zumwalt-class class has an integrated electric propulsion (IEP) system which can send electricity from its turbo-generators to the electric drive motors or weapons and the Total Ship Computing Environment Infrastructure (TSCEI).

As of 2023 the U.S. Navy has officially begun the development of a new guided missile destroyer class. The tentatively-titled DDG (X) will replace the older Ticonderoga -class guided missile cruisers and early Arleigh Burke -class guided missile destroyers [below].

Just as the next-generation carrier will be more “electric” by far than any predecessor, probably the same will be true of the cruiser.

Key technological considerations have included the advent of new lighter-weight motors and generators, but it is also the case that ships are now so large that a bit of extra weight is of limited consequence.

The ship’s prime mover drives a generator rather than a propeller shaft.

The propeller (or propulsor) is driven by a motor wired to the generator. In modern cruise ships, this kind of arrangement makes it possible to place the propellers in pods, which can rotate to turn the ship – to give it unusual maneuverability for its size. In a warship, electric power in itself might have several consequences.

One would be that the ship would not have to run all of her engines all the time, because electric power from any of them could drive all of her propellers. At the very least, that would make for much better efficiency and longer range at a given speed. The ships will be the backbone of the Navy’s fleet into the mid-21st century, protecting carriers and high-end ships and providing offensive firepower of their own.

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