Rolls-Royce seals record naval order from US

ENGINE maker Rolls-Royce has won its largest ever marine naval surface ship contract after signing a deal to supply equipment to the United States navy.

The group - which was dogged last year by the failure of one of its Trent 900 engines on a Qantas Airbus - will supply gas turbines and water jets for up to ten littoral combat ships (LCS).

LCS can operate close to the shore - in "littoral" waters - and can reach speeds of more than 40 knots, accelerating and decelerating quickly.

The technology has already been chosen for the Royal Navy's Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, which are being built at dockyards throughout the UK, including on the Clyde, and will be assembled at Rosyth, in Fife.

Two LCS - made by US engineering giant Lockheed Martin - are already using the propulsion system, with the USS Freedom currently undergoing sea trials and the USS Forth Worth under construction.

No value was attached to the deal but Andrew Marsh, naval president at Rolls-Royce, said: "We are delighted that the Lockheed Martin design has been selected for an additional ten vessels in the LCS programme."

The waterjets are among the largest produced by Rolls-Royce and can pump water at a combined rate of 25,000 gallons per second - enough to fill an Olympic style swimming pool in just 25 seconds.

Richard Curr, head of dealing at Prime Markets, said: "It is estimated that Rolls could face costs of some $500 million (314m) over the next few years to deal with the (Trent 900] engine problems, but these potential costs seem modest in comparison to the very bright future ahead of the company."

Curr said the deal also allowed Rolls-Royce to steal market share away from US conglomerate General Electric, which is the dominant player in the sector.

Earlier this month, Rolls revealed it had completed a $5 billion engine contract with British Airways for 61 aircraft.