NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The new composite engine enclosure designed by GE for the LM2500 engine used on several classes of Navy ships is going to be shock-tested in the near future, a company official said. The company touts the enclosure as advantageous for the future frigate as well.

The lightweight enclosure is designed to replace the steel enclosure for the LM2500, which is the engine used on Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, Ticonderoga-class cruisers, the amphibious assault ships USS Makin Island and USS America, and slated for follow-on ships. It is 50 percent lighter and reduces noise, improves cooling, and provides more safety access than the current steel enclosure.

In an April 11 interview with Seapower, George Aiszus, GE’s military marketing director, said that in a comparison test the lightweight enclosure with the engine was 60 percent quieter at four decibels and 25 to 50 degrees cooler, improvement which would greatly improve working conditions for the crew.

Aiszus said the Engineering Change Proposal is in works with the Navy and Bath Iron Works to have the new enclosure installed on DDG 128.

He also said that the lightweight enclosure would be ideal for the Navy’s future frigate, because weight would be an important factor in its design, which would need the speed provided by the LM2500.

The LM2500 and its derivatives is the only gas turbine engine on Navy ships that has been shock-tested.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy has renamed Program Executive Office Littoral Combat Ship (PEO LCS) as Program Executive Office, Unmanned and Small Combatants (PEO USC), in a move to encompass the PEO’s broadening portfolio of responsibilities.

The name change was ordered in a March 13 memorandum by James F. Geurts, the assistant secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition.

“Since the creation of PEO LCS in July of 2011, the organization’s portfolio has grown beyond its original focus on the development, procurement and sustainment of LCS; its associated mission modules; and related systems,” Geurts said in the memo. “Today, PEO LCS oversees the acquisition of the littoral combat ship (LCS) and its associated mission modules, as well as mine warfare systems, unmanned maritime systems, the future Frigate (FFG(X)) and the Multimission Surface Combatant (MMSC), an LCS variant for international customers. This represents four distinct shipbuilding product lines in development or under construction, 10 unmanned maritime systems, and 15 ACA T or pre-A CAT programs. The name PEO LCS no longer adequately reflects the breadth of its portfolio nor the full importance of its work.

“The Littoral Combat Ship and its mission capabilities remains a critically important shipbuilding program,” he said. “With the introduction of FFG(X) and MMSC in the near future and our burgeoning fleet of unmanned surface and subsurface vehicles, this new name more accurately represents the work on platforms and systems that are key enablers for the future fleet through all phases of warfare. Their continued organization under a single PEO will allow improved program execution, alignment and agility today and into the future.”

The PEO USC includes the following program offices: Unmanned Maritime Systems (PMS 406), LCS Mission Modules (PMS 420), Mine Warfare Systems (PMS 495), Littoral Combat Ships (PMS 501), LCS Fleet Introduction and Sustainment (PMS 505), Frigate (PMS 515) and International LCS (PMS 525).