EVENDALE, OH - GE Marine Engines announced its LM2500 aeroderivative gas turbine was recently used as the prime mover for the Integrated Power Systems (IPS) test program. This marks the U.S. Navy's first use of GE's LM2500 gas turbine in an electric drive configuration. The IPS program, under the direction of the U.S. Navy's DD21 and Associated Technologies Program Executive Office, combines 35 years of U.S. Navy research and development in electrical machinery to improve ship performance and gain arrangement flexibility. A GE LM2500 driving an electrical generator provides the power for the IPS Full Scale Advanced Development (FSAD) system designed by Lockheed Martin's Ocean Radar and Sensor System Division. The testing is being conducted by the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division, Philadelphia. The IPS design is under consideration as the new propulsion and ship service electrical architecture for a wide range of applications, including surface combatants, amphibious ships and auxiliaries. An IPS ship would use a common set of generators to provide power to the propulsion and combat systems. The distribution system performs the conversions necessary to tailor the power for each load. According to the U.S. Navy, advantages of an IPS electric ship include the reduced number of prime movers, fuel savings, reduced maintenance, smaller crews and increased flexibility in power usage and ship arrangement. The U.S. Navy and 24 other international navies currently use GE LM2500 gas turbines for a variety of surface combatants. In fact, the worldwide LM2500 naval fleet includes nearly 1,000 engines on more than 350 ships. In the majority of these configurations, the LM2500 is used in a mechanical drive design with a reduction gear and propeller system. GE continues to support the U.S. Navy in various projects. In fact, its LM family of gas turbines is currently being considered as the main propulsion for the next U.S. Navy destroyer, the DD21. The LM2500 will be returned to the test bed for another phase of IPS testing, and FSAD testing is expected to be completed in 2000. GE Marine Engines is part of GE Aircraft Engines and is headquartered in Evendale, OH. GE Marine Engines is the world's largest designer, developer and manufacturer of aeroderivative gas turbines for a variety of commercial and military marine propulsion applications.