Navy's submarine project gets new deadline

Tribune News Service

Ajay Banerjee

New Delhi, December 18

The Navy’s project to construct six next-generation conventional submarines has been further delayed.

A source said the Project 75 India (P 75I), under which six submarines had to be constructed, would be unable to meet its December 31 deadline. It has been allowed an extension till the middle of 2023.

24 hi-tech subs by ’30

• The Project 75 India, under which six submarines had to be constructed, is unable to meet its December 31 deadline
• It has been allowed an extension till the middle of 2023, say sources
• The Indian submarine plan, announced in 1999, set a target of 24 modern submarines by 2030; so far, the Navy has 16

It is learnt that “more time” has been allowed to companies to submit their bids to the request for proposal (RFP). An RFP is part of the tendering process to elicit financial and technical bids.

One of the reasons for allowing the extension is India’s insistence on the fuel cell technology-based air independent propulsion (AIP). India wants an operational AIP before it inks the contract. Barring two foreign manufacturers, other three are still in the process of operationalising their AIP technologies.

The AIP technology allows the submarine to remain submerged for almost 8-10 days otherwise they have to surface to charge their batteries after 4-5 days, making them vulnerable to enemy satellites.

Indian submarine action plan that was announced in 1999 spoke about having 24 modern submarines by 2030. So far, the Navy has around 16.

The next generation submarines will have advanced torpedoes, modern missiles and state-of-the-art countermeasure systems.

The project has seen many ups and downs. It was in 2007 that the Defence Acquisition Council of the Ministry of Defence accorded the acceptance of necessity (AoN), the first of the many procurement steps.

In 2014, a high-level committee was set up to identify which Indian shipyards had the capability to make such a vessel.

A formal request for information was issued in 2017 under the strategic partnership model. This allows an Indian shipyard to have a tie-up with a foreign manufacturer to make a submarine in India.

In June 2021, an RFP was sent out to two Indian submarine makers: Mazagaon Dockyard Limited, Mumbai, and Larsen & Toubro.

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