U.S Navy To Get New Ship-to-Shore Connector Fleet

Rolls-Royce announced it has won a contract to power the U.S. Navy's future fleet of hovercrafts, known as the Ship-to-Shore Connector (SSC) which will replace the Navy’s current fleet of Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) over the next 20 years. The hovercraft will deploy personnel and vehicles between U.S. Navy ships and the shore and will use multiple cutting edge Rolls-Royce MT7 gas turbines, derived from the highly successful AE1107 engine, which powers the US Marine Corps’ V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft. Andrew Marsh, Rolls-Royce, President - Naval said, "This is an exciting and significant project for Rolls-Royce to be involved with. Our gas turbine technology will increase the power of the hovercraft by 25 per cent, compared to the previous generation, enabling each craft to transport up to 74 tons of cargo at speeds over 35 knots”. The MT7 gas turbines will be connected on each turbine to a sophisticated gearbox system providing both propulsion and lift and combines modern turbine materials and technology.