India going for German-origin submarines, may scrap project for more French ones

NEW DELHI: India may scrap the proposed project to build another three French-origin Scorpene submarines at (MDL), while it goes full steam ahead with the plan to construct six new German-origin diesel-electric stealth submarines at the same facility for over Rs 70,000 crore.

The plan for the three additional Scorpene submarines, which would have cost around Rs 36,000 crore, “is not being pursued now”, though the “final decision to scrap it has not yet been taken in black and white”, top govt sources have told TOI.

While cost negotiations for the three more concluded in the last fiscal itself, the final nod from the PM-led cabinet committee on security (CCS) is “on hold” because the German submarines are considered “a generation ahead” of them, the sources added.

“Moreover, it would be difficult for MDL to handle two different complex submarine-building projects simultaneously,” a source said. The three new Scorpenes were to add to the six such submarines already built at MDL under the over Rs 23,000 crore `Project-75’, which was inked way back in Oct 2005.

The first, INS Kalvari, was commissioned in Dec 2017 after much delay and the sixth, INS Vagsheer, in Jan this year. All the six Kalvari-class submarines will, however, be retrofitted with the air-independent propulsion (AIP) system being developed by DRDO for greater underwater endurance.

AIP gives a diesel-electric submarine the stealth capability to remain underwater for around two weeks, while a boat without it must surface or `snorkel’ every couple of days to get oxygen to recharge its batteries.

The German submarines to be constructed at MDL under `Project-75India (P-75I), in partnership with ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), will have AIP, land-attack cruise missiles and other new-generation technologies.

The decision to take forward the final techno-commercial negotiations for the six German submarines -- with the option for another three of them at a later stage -- was taken after extensive deliberations among the defence ministry, Navy, the National Security Council Secretariat and others, the sources said.

Consequently, the official contract talks for MDL to build the six German submarines began last month. “These new-generation boats under P-75I will come with design ToT (transfer of technology) and a greater indigenisation level of around 60%. The project will serve as a bridge to the future P-76, under which conventional submarines will be constructed based on totally indigenous design,” another source said.

Considering France’s expansive strategic partnership with India, there is however still the possibility that the case for three more Scorpenes could be revived if there is top-level intervention.

Sources, on their part, say France should be pleased that it is on course to bag several other major projects. For one, the govt-to-govt deal for additional Rafales under the IAF’s around Rs 2 lakh crore project for 114 multi-role fighter aircraft (MRFA), in which the bulk of the jets will be manufactured in India, is now in the works, as was reported by TOI.

For another, the collaboration to co-develop a new powerful jet engine with French major Saran – at a cost of Rs 61,000 crore -- for India’s fifth-generation stealth fighter called AMCA (advanced medium combat aircraft) has also been virtually finalized.

Amid all this, the Navy is keeping its fingers crossed. Apart from the six Scorpenes, the Navy is left with just six old Russian Kilo-class and four German HDW submarines in its conventional underwater fleet. It also has two nuclear-powered submarines armed with ballistic missiles.

China, incidentally, has over 50 diesel-electric and 10 nuclear submarines. It is also supplying eight new Yuan-class diesel-electric submarines with AIP to Pakistan in what will be a major capability jump for the latter.

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