M A I N   N E W S

6 made-in-India subs for Navy
Govt clears defence projects worth Rs 80,000 crore
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 25
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on Saturday cleared military equipment purchase proposals worth Rs 80,000 crore and decided that six submarines will be made indigenously.

Clearance was also given to purchase of over 8,000 Israeli anti-tank missiles, 362 infantry carrying vehicles, 12 upgraded Dornier surveillance aircraft and two midget subs for special operations.

The DAC, chaired by Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, is the apex decision-making body of the Ministry of Defence. The meeting that lasted for about two hours was attended by the Defence Secretary, the Chiefs of all three Services, DRDO Chief and other senior officials. The bulk of the decisions went in favour of the Navy that is in dire need of capability enhancement.

The big ticket step was the decision to build six diesel-electric submarines in India at a cost of about Rs 50,000 crore. The ministry will form a panel of specialists who will study five government-owned shipyards and two private facilities and give their report within eight weeks.

Following this, the MoD will issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) to a specific port that will be identified on the basis of the study which will look into whether the facility has the capacity and manpower to build submarines.

The private shipyards on the list are L&T and Pipapav. The government shipyards are at Mumbai, Goa, Kochi, Visakhapatnam and Kolkata. None of the yards can produce a submarine --- a very complex piece of engineering --- on its own and will need foreign partners. Germany, France, Spain and Russia, among others have the technology to produce these submarines.

The submarines will be Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) capable that will enable them to stay underwater for longer than a conventional submarine besides having enhanced stealth features.

Originally, there was a plan to import first two submarines and build the remaining ones at government-owned shipyards.

Currently, the Navy has only 13 operational submarines and half of them are slated for a refit. Another six are under construction at Mazagon Docks Limited, Mumbai in collaboration with DCNS of France. In contrast, China has 60 submarines which routinely make forays in the Indian Ocean.

The DAC has opted for Israel-made ‘Spike’ anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs).

The council also okayed the direct purchase of 321 launchers and 8,356 missiles at cost of Rs 3,200 crore. In all, 1,900 launchers and 37,800 missiles will be required to equip the 382 infantry battalions and 44 mechanised infantry units of the Army.

The Navy will also get two ‘midget submarines’ costing about Rs 2,000 crore. These are special operations vehicles tailored for attack, autonomous swimmer delivery; surveillance and mine-hunting. These are 16-20m long and carry 10-12 armed troops which can carry out targeted operations.

Another 12 Dornier surveillance aircraft with enhanced sensors will also be bought from the the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd at a cost of Rs 1,850 crore. Another 362 infantry carrying vehicle – also known as BMP, will be produced by the Ordinance Factory Board, Medak, for Rs 662 crore. The Army will get 1,768 new railway wagons that can rapidly carry tanks and trucks at a cost of Rs 740 crore. A sum of Rs 662 crore will be spent on radio equipment.