New Delhi: German submarine manufacturer ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) looks forward to bagging the contract for the Indian Navy’s long-delayed Project 75 (India).
Under the P75I project, six conventional submarines will be built with the state-of-the-art proven fuel-cell air independent propulsion (AIP) system, supposed to be working in tandem with lithium-ion batteries.
The combination of these two new technologies as demanded by the Indian Navy will be a force multiplier for India. It means that the submarines would be able to stay underwater for nearly 12 days straight unlike how it is currently when it has to surface every two to three days to recharge its batteries.
The Indian Navy has completed the field evaluation trials of the AIP system, offered by TKMS and Spanish firm Navantia.
The inspection team is now making a technical report which will then be submitted to the naval headquarters.
While TKMS has tied up with state-run Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), Navantia has gone with private firm Larsen and Toubro (L&T).
“We are very confident of our proven AIP technology and are in the final stages of the design concept with MDL, which will incorporate the stealth features,” said TKMS CEO Khalil Rahman, briefing reporters in the national capital.
He said that unlike the regular submarines, which are more rounded, the design for the Indian project is angular, which will give it lower sonar signatures, that is, stealth features.
He added that 52 submarines are in service or under construction by TKMS with the AIP system.
The German company has promised a full transfer of technology as demanded by the Indian Navy and stressed that the German government will stand guarantee.
Rahman said that while TKMS is designing the new submarine, it will hand over the design to the Indian government as mandated by the Navy.
According to the project’s request for proposal (RFP), the first submarine will be delivered seven years after the signing of the contract and have a 45 percent indigenous composition.
After this, one submarine will be delivered each year, with the overall programme having a 60 percent indigenous composition.
It was in 2019 that the then defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman-headed Defence Acquisition Council cleared the P75I project.
The P75I project is part of a 30-year submarine-building plan that ends in 2030. As part of this plan, India was to build 24 submarines — 18 conventional submarines and six nuclear-powered submarines (SSNs) — as an effective deterrent against China and Pakistan.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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