Artec has participated in the sustainment of the Main Propulsion Gear System for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) developed by Lockheed Martin for the U. S. Navy.
In May 2004 the U. S. Navy awarded Lockheed Martin a contract to complete the final design for this new type of vessel (LCS-1). Marinette Marine commenced the construction of the first vessel in January 2005. Lockheed Martin’s LCS was designed by Gibbs & Cox as a high-speed naval combatant vessel.
The ship is powered by two gas turbines and two diesel engines. The MRG's are a custom design powering the ship four water jets from either the diesel engines, gas turbines or both in Combined Operation Diesel and Gas Turbine (CODAG) mode. Transfer between modes is automatically controlled via an integrated control system in combination with the ship’s main propulsion control and monitoring system.
Based on the current design Artec was assigned the supporting role for fulfilling the Navy’s MIL-901D shock requirements. The current LCS-1 and follow-on vessel LCS-3 MRG’s have been evaluated by DDAM analysis.
The first vessel “Freedom” was commissioned in November 2008 in Milwaukee, WI. It has since successfully transited the Great Lakes arriving in Boston on December 9, 2008. Artec Machine Systems performed a series of inspections during the intervening passages between ports.
Artec’s service center in North Branford, CT maintains repair and testing of various gear units as well as warehousing and the preserving of dedicated parts.