Arleigh Burke Class Destroyers: Observations on the Navy's Hybrid Electric Drive Program

Abstract

In 2009, the Secretary of the Navy established goals that, in part, focused on reducing the energy consumption of the Navy's forces. Two years later, the Navy initiated a program to develop and install Hybrid Electric Drive (HED) systems on its fleet of Arleigh Burke class (DDG51 Flight IIA) destroyers. The Navy's HED system is designed to save fuel by using excess power from the ship's electrical system to propel the ship. Since 2011, Navy officials told us that they have spent over $100 million on the development, purchase, and upgrade of six HED systems. However, the Navy has only installed one of these systems to date. In October 2018, the Navy completed installation of one of the systems on the DDG 103 (USS Truxtun). The other five systems that the Navy purchased are in storage. The Navy has not purchased the remaining 28 of the 34 original notionally-planned systems. In July 2020, the Navy stated that, instead of installing the remaining five systems on ships, it would use them for a research effort referred to as Propulsion Derived Ship Service (PDSS). The Navys goal for PDSS is to develop an electric motor that can facilitate the movement of power to and from a ship's electrical and propulsion systems, according to senior Navy officials. In contrast, the HED can only move power in one direction - from the electrical system to the propulsion system. Senate Report 115-262 accompanying the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 asked the Navy to submit a report on the HED system installed on the USS Truxtun and asked us to review the Navy's report. According to the Senate report, the Navy was to conduct a comprehensive test and evaluation of the HED system, including six specific assessment areas, and report on the results to inform decisions about whether to continue with future HED installations on the DDG 51 class ships.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 05, 2020
Accession Number
AD1150428

Entities

People

  • Anne L. Taylor
  • Brian Bothwell
  • Diana Moldafsky
  • Jeff Hartnett
  • Laurier Fish
  • Lori Fields
  • Lorraine Ettaro
  • Shelby S. Oakley
  • Stephanie Gustafson
  • William Reed

Organizations

  • United States Government Accountability Office

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Cyber
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Arleigh Burke Class
  • Commerce
  • Congress
  • Department Of Defense
  • Destroyers
  • Electric Generators
  • Electric Motors
  • Engineering
  • Engineers
  • Generators
  • Governments
  • Naval Operations
  • Naval Vessels
  • Navy
  • Propulsion Systems
  • Ships
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Turbines
  • Uss Arleigh Burke
  • Uss Truxtun

Readers

  • Energy Conservation and Renewable Energy Engineering.
  • Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering.
  • Naval Engineering and Maritime Security