The propulsion technology of Avio Aero, a GE Aviation business, was chosen to power the seven new ones Polivalenti of Altura Patrol (PPA) which will be built by Fincantieri and which will expand the fleet of the Italian Navy. GE Marine's first LM2500 + G4 gas turbine will be delivered in 2017 and the agreement provides for an additional 6 turbines by 2022. Avio Aero is responsible for the design of the turbine control system, auxiliary systems and the "package" of the the entire propulsion system, as well as the production of important parts and the maintenance and overhaul of the turbines.
The choice continues a long tradition of collaboration between Avio Aero and the Italian Navy which, starting with the 1977, sees the Navy and Fincantieri as the first to adopt the LM2500 gas turbine for the class frigates Wolf, Mistral, Gunner, the hunt De la Penne, the aircraft carrier Garibaldi, up to the class destroyers Andrea Doria and the aircraft carrier Cavour. More recently, the Italian-French FREMM program has adopted the most powerful and innovative LM2500 + G4 turbine, the same solution now chosen for PPAs.
At its Brindisi plant, where approximately 700 employees are employed, Avio Aero produces up to 20% of the components of the LM2500 engine, the GE gas turbine used by 34 International Marine Military and in countless industrial and marine applications. The Puglia site has also been chosen as GE's global center of excellence for the review and repair of the LM2500 and LM6000 gas turbines, offering support to ship and industrial engine customers worldwide. Outside the United States, Brindisi is currently the largest audit center for these turbines.
