Converteam contracted for Navy destroyers

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Pennsylvania-based Converteam North America has been contracted as the High Voltage Single System Vendor for the Navy's Zumwalt Class destroyers.

The Converteam Group is a power-conversion engineering provider worldwide.

The $183.15 million contract awarded to Converteam's DDG 1000 team is for complex power generation, power distribution, and propulsion systems on board the dual lead ships for the U.S. Navy. These new multi-mission warships will be built at Northrop Grumman Ship Systems in Pascagoula, Miss., and at General Dynamics' Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine.

"These contracts verify Converteam's position as the most experienced electric propulsion integrator for Navy platforms in North America," said Converteam's DDG 1000 program director, Paul Thompson, in a statement.

"This project is a natural progression in a series of other significant project wins for us including U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy, the T-AKE class, LHD-8 and LHA-6. It showcases our capability to reach beyond traditional electrical engineering services and provide a more diverse set of integrated electrical propulsion systems."

Officials say the DDG 1000 team will provide land attack capability in support of ground campaigns in littoral operations and function as an integral part of naval, joint or combined maritime forces.