MAN Energy Solutions and Doen WaterJets Partner for Australian Military Tender

MAN Energy Solutions and Doen WaterJets (DOEN) have agreed to join forces to offer a fully integrated propulsion system solution to the Australian Army’s LAND 8710 Littoral Manoeuvre Vessel Phase 1A (LMV-M) program.

The program aims to acquire a medium landing craft suitable for a range of missions in Australia’s northern waters and beyond.

The cooperation spans the full product lifecycle including propulsion system design, integrated logistics support and commissioning, through to spare parts and technical services once the landing craft enter service.

MAN Energy Solutions is offering its MAN 175D engine, which has been the high-speed engine of choice for 14 South-East Asian Navy and governmental programs since it was released to the market in 2016. The MAN 175D offers low-load endurance fit for extended riverine and littoral mission profiles. Smart adaptation of turbocharger wastegate control and other features mean the MAN 175D will maintain 100% rated power output in the hottest Northern Australian environments conceivable.

To match the MAN 175D engine, DOEN is offering its DJ400 water jet, manufactured at its Melbourne facility. The DJ400 features a fully stainless-steel impeller pump design. The rotor, casing and nozzle are all stainless steel, making DJ400 an extremely tough and wear-and-corrosion resistant product, says the company. This, combined with the flexibility to customize features to suit the application, for example incorporation of a stainless steel intake grill, ensures the highest levels of operability and reliability in the green and brown waters highlighted by the Australian Army’s LAND 8710 functional specification.

The companies claim best-in-class fuel consumption which will reduce operating costs and potentially extend landing craft range. Exceptional engine load response and a wide water-jet cavitation margin ensure LMV-M can navigate tight corners with ease.

Under the terms of the agreement, MAN would be the propulsion system supplier to the prospective shipyard with DOEN and the gearbox manufacturer suppliers to MAN. MAN would be an authorized service partner for all the supplied equipment and commits to establishing MAN PrimeServ facilities in Townsville, Queensland and Darwin, ensuring the highest levels of local service support for the complete propulsion system. MAN and DOEN will invest in technician training.

MAN 175D engine and DJ400 water jets feature in the Qatari Emiri Navy, Landing Craft Mechanised (LCM) vessels Broog and Ishat, which have operated successfully since entering service in July 2022.

Tim Udvary, Managing Director, DOEN, said: “We have had considerable success supplying our waterjet products to landing craft and other defense programs for the United States, Israeli, Indian, and Indonesian Navies, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, and other government agencies across the globe. Joining forces with MAN Energy Solutions, we are committed to harness our collective track record to provide an extremely robust, reliable and serviceable water jet propulsion system to the Australian Army if selected for the LAND 8710 program.”