It's this engine-making Rolls-Royce company we're interested in now, as it just announced it is entering the submarine solution provider market with not one, but two different solutions. One is a genset engine that's meant to go into the submarines of the future, and the other a means to control the systems of the military underwater vehicles.
The engine is called MTU 20V4000U83 and it's a derivation of the existing mtu Series 4000 boat engine. Not only a derivation of it, but a Frankenstein's monster by comparison, as it rocks no less than 20 cylinders instead of the usual 12.
The exact specifications of the engine have not been released, as the unit is yet to be unveiled in the metal – that will happen at the Euronaval exhibition taking place in Paris, France, from November 4. But we do know enough to get a pretty good idea of what it is going to be about.
The engine has been designed to deliver significantly more power, something that will be in high demand on the military submarines of the future. This should allow it to charge batteries faster, and that translates into less surface time for these underwater beasts.
Because it is more powerful than the systems before it, but not necessarily bigger, the engine will also save space on the subs. More specifically, says Rolls-Royce, just two MTU 20V4000U83 engines will be enough to take on the duties of three gensets from the previous generation were tasked with.
Rolls-Royce Unveils a 20-Cylinder Engine, But It's for Submarines