OREANDA-NEWS.  The USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000), 610 feet long and with a displacement of 15,656 long tons, is the largest stealth destroyer ever built for the U.S. Navy and is the first of its kind in recent history to use an electric propulsion system with induction based motors, rather than propelling the ship directly with gas turbines. The ship marks a new era for naval vessel design. GE’s Power Conversion business (NYSE: GE) has provided the integrated power systems to the U.S. Navy for its first “all-electric” warship.

The DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class destroyer is the U.S. Navy’s most-advanced multi-mission destroyer. It has been developed as a successor to the DD(X) program, which in turn evolved from the DD-21 program. It is sleeker and carries state-of-the-art weapons that the Navy estimates will allow it to hit targets at a range of more than 60 miles. Designed for surface warfare, anti-aircraft and naval fire support, the ship’s revolutionary technologies extend from its outward appearance to its internal equipment.

GE is supplying the integrated power systems, including advanced induction propulsion motors, switchboards, propulsion converters, power management, power quality equipment and system engineering and integration services—in essence, the essential equipment to make the power system operate. GE has a firm order to supply these systems to three vessels.

“When the Navy challenged the industry with the need for the electrical systems required to support next-generation naval warfare, it chose GE Power Conversion. We rose to the challenge and have delivered a capability never before seen on a naval vessel, with the support of a team of our world-class engineers," said Paul English, marine business leader for GE’s Power Conversion business.

While GE’s Power Conversion business has been providing electric propulsion systems for almost 100 years, these systems are a first on a U.S. Naval destroyer. The system is capable of propelling the ship, powering the radars and the Integrated Fight Through Power, a zonal electric distribution system, thanks to the 78 megawatts of power generated on the ship. In an all-electric ship, the turbines are shared by one distribution system. This new all-electric design also gives greater flexibility to where power is distributed across the ship according to varying needs including additional radar or weapon power, for example.

GE’s Power Conversion business became involved with the U.S. Navy with a related technology demonstration contract in the late 1990s when it supplied an Advanced Induction Motor (AIM) and pulse-width modulation converter for testing at NAVSSES in Philadelphia. More recently, Power Conversion provided a double-flanged AIM to the Navy’s land-based test site in Philadelphia to operate in conjunction with a water brake as part of a four-quadrant load test facility for testing high-power naval machines.