India is soon going to get not one, but six new submarines. All these submarines are part of a project that has been delayed for a long time. According to reports, the 75 (I) submarine program will once again be brought before the Cabinet Committee for approval. These submarines are part of a Rs 70,000 crore deal with Germany. According to reports, these submarines will be built at Majhagaon Dock Shipbuilders Limited in Mumbai. Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) will be collaborating for this. The deal was in talks for a long time. However, there were frequent problems with commercial terms and technical aspects. Now it is expected that the work on this project will move forward at a fast pace after getting the approval of the Cabinet Committee.
Meanwhile, work has already started on this before any decision comes from the cabinet. According to a report by NDTV, TKMS is quietly building a network of Indian partners. The German company has taken this step as a long-term vision for the war in Indian waters. The German company has signed an agreement with VEM Technologies of Hyderabad. Its main objective is to develop, manufacture, integrate and modernize the heavyweight torpedo. What is special is that TKMS’s subsidiary ‘Atlas Electronics’ is also involved. VEM is taking care of the testing and integration responsibilities on the Indian side. This partnership has now turned into a team agreement, which includes technology transfer and ‘Make-in-India’ torpedo project. TKMS has also partnered with Mumbai’s CFF Fluid Control for anti-submarine warfare systems. It also plans to collaborate with DRDO.
Let us tell you that for India, this deal is not just about buying six submarines. In fact, India wants to achieve a bigger goal through this. This includes increasing India’s domestic construction capacity, repair, modernization and developing its own design capabilities in the future. These submarines are expected to have an ‘air-independent propulsion’ system, which will help them stay underwater for longer periods compared to traditional diesel-electric submarines. They may also have modern sensors, torpedoes, missiles and electronic warfare systems. Indian officials will determine whether this agreement provides enough opportunity for domestic shipyards and companies to learn skills and move forward.
It is noteworthy that the Indian Navy has been going through the problem of reducing its traditional submarines for some time now. On the other hand, the activities of Chinese submarines in the Indian Ocean have also increased. In such a situation, this agreement will help India a lot. The main purpose of these six new submarines is to stay underwater for a long time, increase power, conduct surveillance and strengthen the attack capability.
