LONDON, April 22, 2026, 12:13 BST
Rolls-Royce Holdings plc announced two fresh naval propulsion wins, saying its MT30 turbine will power Australia’s new upgraded Mogami-class frigates and its mtu engines will equip 10 more U.S. Coast Guard fast response cutters. The awards give the London-listed aerospace and defence group more order momentum in marine power, even as its shares remain under pressure.
Why it matters now is plain enough: investors are measuring each new contract against a much higher bar. Rolls-Royce in February guided for £4.0 billion-£4.2 billion in 2026 underlying operating profit, announced a £7 billion-£9 billion buyback plan through 2028, and set a final dividend of 5 pence a share; underlying operating profit is the company’s preferred measure after stripping out some one-off items.
The stock did not get much help from the news. TradingView put Rolls-Royce at 1,149.6 pence, down 4.5% over the past 24 hours, while the company’s own dividend timetable shows the ordinary shares go ex-dividend on April 23, with payment due on June 3.
In Australia, the MT30 will power a fleet of up to 11 upgraded Mogami-class general-purpose frigates. The first three ships will be built in Japan by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, with the first scheduled for delivery to the Royal Australian Navy in 2029 and operational service in 2030, Rolls-Royce said.
Canberra signed contracts on April 18 for the first three frigates, part of a broader programme to strengthen its surface fleet. The Australian government said the ships will have a range of up to 10,000 nautical miles, a 32-cell vertical launch system and surface-to-air and anti-ship missiles; Reuters reported the initial Australia-Japan deal was worth A$10 billion, or about $7 billion.
Alex Zino, director of business development and future programmes at Rolls-Royce Defence, said: “For over 100 years, Rolls-Royce has been an integral partner delivering power and propulsion to Australia for air, land, and sea.” A marine gas turbine is, in simple terms, a jet-engine-derived power unit adapted to drive naval ships or generate power on board. Rolls-Royce
The U.S. Coast Guard order is separate. Rolls-Royce said it will supply mtu 20V 4000 M93L engines for 10 additional Sentinel-class fast response cutters, lifting the total programme order to 77 ships; each vessel will use two 4,300 kW engines and be capable of speeds above 28 knots.
Scott Hanson, vice president of governmental sales North America for Rolls-Royce’s Power Systems division, said the company’s longtime customer Bollinger Shipyards had “placed its trust” in Rolls-Royce and its mtu engines. Bollinger has already delivered 61 fast response cutters fitted with those engines, Rolls-Royce said. Rolls-Royce
The Coast Guard had exercised a $507 million option with Bollinger in September to fund initial construction on 10 more fast response cutters, raising the number ordered under that agreement from 67 to 77. That is useful context for Rolls-Royce: the latest engine selection follows a funded U.S. fleet-extension move, not just an early-stage design ambition.
Rolls-Royce also said on April 20 it had won a 10-year, firm-fixed-price U.S. Coast Guard maintenance contract covering dockside maintenance and urgent repairs for 10 National Security Cutters powered by mtu Series 1163 engines. Willy Tirado-Sarmiento, vice president of customer support Americas, called it a sign of the firm’s “commitment to the U.S. Coast Guard.” Rolls-Royce
The competitive backdrop is not soft. GE Aerospace says its LM2500 marine gas turbine is trusted by 39 navies worldwide and has more than 1,500 installations, underscoring why new surface-ship selections matter for Rolls-Royce’s MT30 franchise.
The risk is execution and price. Rolls-Royce did not disclose values for the two April 21 propulsion awards, and naval programmes can slip if shipyards, defence budgets or supply chains come under strain. For a stock that reached an all-time high on Feb. 26, according to TradingView, even solid order flow may not be enough if investors decide the turnaround is already priced in.
