Project 75I-class submarine

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Class overview
NameProject 75 (India) [also referred as P-75I]
Builders
Operators Indian Navy
Preceded by Kalvari class
Cost₹43,000 crore (US$5.7 billion)
Planned6
General characteristics
TypeAttack submarine
PropulsionDiesel-electric, AIP
NotesCapable of conducting -

The Project 75 (India)-class submarines, or P-75I, for short, are a planned class of diesel-electric submarines, which are to be built for the Indian Navy. The P-75I class is a follow-on of the P-75 class submarines of the Indian Navy. Under this project, the Indian Navy intends to acquire six conventional, diesel-electric attack submarines, which will also feature advanced capabilities - including air-independent propulsion (AIP), ISR, special operations forces (SOF), anti-ship warfare (AShW), anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASuW), land-attack capabilities and other features.[2][3] All six submarines are expected to be constructed in India, under the Make in India initiative.[3][4]

History[]

In 1997, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) approved a plan to acquire 24 submarines under Project 75.[5] After the Kargil War in 1999, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) - India's top decision-making body on issues related to defense and national security, approved a 30-year submarine building plan, that called for two parallel production lines, each constructing six submarines. The older Project-75 (P-75) was brought under the new plan, with the two production lines to be built under P-75 and P-75I using transfer of technology (ToT) from different foreign manufacturers.[6]

In 2008, the Indian Navy issued a Request for Information (RFI) to multiple naval conglomerates - Armaris (now Naval Group), HDW and Rosoboronexport for six submarines with air-independent propulsion (AIP) and land-attack capability, that were to be built in India.[7][8]

In July 2010, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) - the MoD's top arms acquisition body, decided to import two submarines, build three at Mazagon Docks Limited (MDL) and one at Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL), with a budget of INR ₹50,000 crore (equivalent to ₹950 billion or US$13 billion in 2020).[9] After the project was approved by the DAC in August 2010, an RFI was issued again in September 2010.[10][11] However, the RFP was not approved by the CCS due to conflicting opinions between the Indian Navy and the MoD, over the involvement of privately-owned shipyards in the project. Consequently, the approval lapsed and was renewed multiple times till 2013.[12][13]

In October 2014, the DAC decided to construct all six submarines in India and approved a budget of INR ₹53,000 crore (equivalent to ₹720 billion or US$9.6 billion in 2020).[2] Along with the state-owned MDL, HSL, and Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), privately-owned L&T Shipbuilding and Pipavav Shipyard (R-Naval) were allowed to bid for the project in collaboration with a foreign shipyard.[14]

In 2017, the Indian Navy issued another RFI, to Naval Group, Rosoboronexport, ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), Saab Kockums, Navantia and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI).[15] Out of the aforementioned six - only Naval Group, Rosoboronexport, TKMS and Saab responded, while Navantia and Mitsubishi failed to respond within the deadline.[16][17]

In June 2017, it was reported that the contract for construction would be awarded under a "Strategic Partnership" (SP) policy, which would eliminate state-owned shipyards from contention.[18] After the approval lapsed in February 2018, the DAC renewed the approval with a budget of INR ₹40,000 crore (US$5.3 billion) in January 2019.[19][20]

In April 2019, an Expression of Interest (EOI) was issued for six submarines capable of firing land-attack missiles (LAM) and anti-ship cruise missiles.[21] In June 2019, South Korea's Daewoo Shipping & Marine Engineering (DSME), was allowed to enter the project, after the EOI had expired, in response to a late invitation extended by the MoD, thus making a late entrance into the competition.[22][23] Navantia responded to the EOI in July 2019, affirming the company's re-entrance into the competition (after their absence from the RFI issued in 2017).[24][25] Shortly after, in September 2019, Saab withdrew from the competition, citing concerns about the rules defined in the "Strategic Partnership" policy.[23] Saab's withdrawal left five firms as the only contestants in P-75I - Naval Group, Rosoboronexport, TKMS, Navantia and DSME; the five firms were later officially shortlisted as the finalists of the competition, in 2020.[26]

Finalists[]

On 21 January 2020, the Government of India (GoI) shortlisted two Indian shipyards - Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL), as the two Indian finalists in P-75I.[27] Concurrently, the GoI also shortlisted five foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM), as finalists in P-75I - ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) of Germany, Rubin Design Bureau of Russia, Navantia of Spain, Naval Group of France, and Daewoo Shipping & Marine Engineering (DSME) of South Korea.[26]

The two Indian shipyards respectively, would have to collaborate with the five foreign shortlisted OEM's, for competing in the project.[28] In July, 2021, the MoD formally issued an RFP, for the construction of the six designated submarines, worth ₹43,000 crore (US$5.7 billion), under a "Strategic Partnership" model.[29][30]

  • Foreign Contenders :-

At the time of the issuing the RFP, five OEM's were competing in P-75I -

  • Indian Shipyards :-

The two Indian shipyards shortlisted in P-75I were -

Gallery[]

Developments[]

In July 2021, MDL - one of the two Indian shipyards in the competition, issued an RFI to the five shortlisted OEM's, attempting to forge a partnership for competing in the tender; the RFI had stipulated the OEM should have a functioning AIP system, that has been tested and proven on an operational submarine. Reportedly, three nations - France, Russia and Spain, did not have any functioning submarine with an AIP system, leaving Germany (TKMS) and South Korea (DSME) as the only eligible contenders.[38][39][40]

In September 2021, TKMS reportedly withdrew from the competition, expressing reservations about "restrictive conditions" in the tender; the firm complained of "restrictive" liability clauses, a high "indigenous content percentage" (the amount of Indian-manufactured content desired on the submarines), and a "lack of clarity" on the transfer of technology in the project.[41][42][43] The reported move by TKMS, left DSME (South Korea), as the sole eligible contender in P-75I.[43]

See also[]

Other References to the Indian Navy

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "THE SAGA OF PROJECT 75 (I)".
  2. ^ a b Sen, Sudhi Ranjan (26 October 2014). "6 Made-in-India Submarines for Navy for 53,000 Crores". NDTV.
  3. ^ a b Siddiqui, Huma (9 March 2015). "Narendra Modi government shortlists Larsen & Toubro, Pipavav for Rs 60,000 crore submarine contract". The Financial Express.
  4. ^ a b c "Indian MoD Issues a Request For Proposal For The Construction Of Six P-75(I) Submarines". 20 July 2021.
  5. ^ Saw, David (2005). "The World Submarine Situation". Armada International. Vol. 29, no. 6. Gurgaon: Media Transasia India Ltd. pp. 52–58. ISSN 0252-9793.
  6. ^ Singh, Sushant (13 November 2015). "Explained: India's submarine story in deep waters, long way to go". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 15 February 2018.
  7. ^ Thapar, Vishal (17 February 2008). "Indian Navy eyes new submarines". CNN-IBN. Archived from the original on 12 January 2012.
  8. ^ Pandit, Rajat (20 October 2008). "Navy hunts for hi-tech submarines". The Times of India.
  9. ^ Pandit, Rajat (11 July 2010). "Biggest military deal: Six subs for Rs 50,000 crore". The Times of India.
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  11. ^ "Procurement of Submarines". Press Information Bureau. 19 December 2011.
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  13. ^ Pandit, Rajat (9 June 2013). "Tangled in red tape, India's submarine fleet sinking". The Times of India.
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  18. ^ Basu, Nayanima (8 June 2017). "P75(I) submarine to be first deal under 'Strategic Partnership'". The Hindu Business Line.
  19. ^ Nair-Ghaswalla, Amrita (5 February 2018). "Indigenous submarine project still a non-starter". The Hindu Business Line.
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  21. ^ "Indian Navy kicks off Rs 50,000 crore lethal submarine project, wants 500 km strike range cruise missiles on them". The Economic Times. Asian News International. 4 April 2019.
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  27. ^ "With 2 Indian Shipyards &, 5 Submarine Cos Approved, Crucial Step in Project 75-India - Livefist". 21 January 2020.
  28. ^ "Defence Ministry shortlists L&T and MDL to build six conventional submarines". The Hindu. 22 January 2020.
  29. ^ "MoD issues RFP for construction of six P-75(I) AIP submarines for Indian Navy for $6 bn – India Strategic".
  30. ^ a b c "MoD issues RFP for construction of six P-75(I) submarines for Indian Navy".
  31. ^ Sutton, H. I. (14 October 2021). "The 4 Submarines Competing For The Indian Navy's P-75I Program".
  32. ^ Vavasseur, Xavier (4 February 2020). "Video: Naval Group Proposal for Indian Navy P-75I Submarine Project".
  33. ^ Vavasseur, Xavier (16 March 2020). "Navantia Pitching S80 Plus Submarine for India's P-75I during UDS 2020".
  34. ^ "Germany Offers India New Stealth Submarines".
  35. ^ "Sankalan Chattopadhyay writes on Project 75 India: A new era of submarine warfare". vayuaerospace.in. 9 December 2020.
  36. ^ "Russia offers Amur class submarines to India". DNA India.
  37. ^ Lee, Juho (16 June 2021). "MADEX 2021: DSME Sheds Light on Submarine Offer to India for P-75I".
  38. ^ Pubby, Manu. "Submarine building project: MDL's extended underwater tech clause to oust most global bidders" – via The Economic Times.
  39. ^ "P-75I: MDL's AIP Clause Could Make only 2 OEM's Eligible for Submarine Contract". ELE Times. 17 July 2021.
  40. ^ "Indian Navy and the impending issue of AIP import for Project 75 (I) subs".
  41. ^ "After SAAB — the Makers of Gripen Fighter Jet — Another Foreign Firm Could Pull Out of India's Submarine Project". 20 August 2021.
  42. ^ "Project 75 (I) hits a huge roadblock, one major contender pulls out; Know more".
  43. ^ a b Pubby, Manu. "Germany may not bid for Navy's P75I submarine project, leaves South Korean firm as only vendor" – via The Economic Times.

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