The Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) has selected the Rolls-Royce MT30 marine gas turbine for the FFX Batch III “mini-AEGIS” frigate that will be delivered from 2024.
Also known as Ulsan-class frigates, the first of the 3,500-ton ships will be built by Hyundai Heavy Industries.
The selection of the MT30 turbine for the ship’s propulsion follows a successful cooperation between the company and RoKN on a hybrid propulsion system arrangement for all eight ships in the Daegu-class FFX Batch II frigate program. Each of the Daegu frigates is powered by a single MT30 gas turbine and electric propulsion motors powered by four Rolls-Royce MTU diesel generators per ship.
For FFX Batch III, the Ulsan-class frigate program, Rolls-Royce will also supply engine health management (EHM) capability with its MT30 marine gas turbine. According to the company, EHM technology delivers through-life benefits, such as reduced manpower and maintenance costs, by enabling the collection of reliable engine data and analysis to maximize asset availability and optimize on-board maintenance.
“MT30 first entered service with the Republic of Korea Navy’s Daegu-class in 2018. Its selection for FFX Batch III is a testament to the confidence that our customer has in the proven performance of this modern and superior engine,” Jay Lee (Jongyel Lee), Vice President of Business Development & Future Programmes, Defence – Naval, Korea said.
Beyond the FFX program, the power density of the proven naval MT30 gas turbine genset is also one of the key enablers for Integrated Full Electric Propulsion (IFEP) for the next – generation RoKN destroyer (KDDX).
South Korea plans to build six FFX III frigates which will feature a 360-degree four-sided fixed multi-function phased array radar capable for enhanced anti-air defense capability. The ships are expected to be fitted with the “long-range naval SAM” (Naval L-SAM), a navalized version of the locally-developed missile defense system capable of ballistic missile defense.
