Following the news that Rolls-Royce engines have been selected to power the South Korean Navy’s Ulsan-class FFX Batch III frigates;

Captain Nurettin Sevi, Turkish Navy, Defense Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view:

“Rolls-Royce supplying gas turbines to South Korea’s new 3,500-ton frigates comes as no surprise, as the company also provided South Korea’s Daegu-class FFX Batch II frigates with MT30 gas turbines, which resulted in commonality and ease of maintenance. The company is a leading player in the global naval gas turbines market and GlobalData anticipates the market will register a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.95%, growing from an indicative value of US$333.5m in 2019 to US$446.2m by 2029.

“The MT30 gas turbine is currently the world’s most powerful in-service marine gas turbines with the highest power density and has been selected to power Naval fleets including the US, Canada, UK, Italy, Australia, Japan and South Korea. The gas turbines are also applied to a wide range of ships, from aircraft carriers and landing helicopter docks (LHD) to destroyers and frigates.

“In ship design, operational and logistic requirements such as speed, maneuverability, acoustic signature management, shock capability, cost and maintenance determine which type of propulsion system is to be fitted. The propulsion system determined during the design is expected to meet the ship’s anticipated needs in a cost-effective way for 30–40 years. The MT30’s modular design is an important factor in sustainability, allowing selected modules to be overhauled or replaced to avoid unnecessary costs.”