The US Navy has certified Rolls-Royce’s mtu Series 4000 and Series 2000 marine engines for autonomous vessel operations, qualifying the propulsion systems for 30-day deployments at sea without maintenance, according to Rolls-Royce.
The Series 4000 passed two 720-hour durability tests and was certified for autonomous applications at up to 4,300 kW of propulsion power and 3,000 kWe of power generation.
The engine is available in V8, V12, V16 and V20 configurations. The Series 2000 secured certification following component testing and thousands of hours of field operation. It is available for propulsion applications up to 1,939 kW in V10, V12 and V16 configurations.
The certifications align with requirements outlined in the 2021/2026 National Defense Authorization Act for unmanned systems. The tests require engines to operate without human intervention or preventive or corrective maintenance or repairs to the main propulsion, fuel and oil systems.
“The certification of our engines for unmanned operations further demonstrates the reliability and advanced technology of our mtu Series 4000 and 2000 marine propulsion systems. For decades, mtu engines have been trusted to provide reliable, mission-ready power for our crews at sea,” said Scott Hanson, vice president, governmental sales at Rolls-Royce Power Systems in North America.
“As autonomous missions become increasingly important to naval strategy, we are proving that we can deliver the power systems, long-endurance capability and technology required for the new operational demands of unmanned vessels.”
Sea Hunter, one of the US Navy’s first autonomous unmanned surface vessels, was operationally deployed earlier this year alongside Seahawk as part of the Navy’s first unmanned surface vessel division. Sea Hunter is powered by twin mtu 12V 2000 engines and has logged tens of thousands of operational hours since its christening in 2016.