In the quest of becoming a twenty first century blue water navy, India has taken a number of initiatives to exponentially expand its naval assets. This can only be successful with a powerful fleet of modern submarines, a large fleet of which will not only protect Indian interests in the Bay of Bengal, Indian Oceanic Region and the Arabian Sea but maintain dominance from the Malacca Strait or beyond to the East Coast of Africa, assuring India’s security. In 1997, the Ministry of Defence approved a plan to acquire 24 submarines under Project 75. Later the plan was changed and along with a new refurbished Project 75, the new Project 75I (for India) was initiated, the aim being to establish two production lines to build twelve boats using transfer of technology from different foreign manufacturers. Submarines to be built under P-75I will be more advanced than the Kalvari-class submarines currently being manufactured under the P-75, and will be equipped with air-independent-propulsion (AIP) allowing much longer under water endurance also featuring vertical launch system enabling launch of land attack cruise missiles.
In October 2014, the Defence Acquisition Council cleared the P-75I with an approved budget of Rs. 53,000 crore. State-owned Mazagon Dock, Hindustan Shipyard and Cochin Shipyard, privately owned Larsen & Toubro and Pipavav Shipyard have been shortlisted to bid for the project in collaboration with a foreign shipyard. According to latest reports following are the likely contenders for the project:
Russia
According to reports, Russia has indicated an undisclosed system based on the Amur 1650 as an official contender for the multibillion dollar project. The Amur 1650 is an export version of the Project 677 Lada-class submarine whose latest unit, the Kronshtadt was recently been inducted in the Russian Navy and four more units are likely to be commissioned. The fourth generation diesel-electric submarine with future fifth generation Kalina-class will bolster the conventional submarine fleet of Russian Navy. Amur-class from Rubin Central Design Bureau has been developed mainly for exports, essentially to India or China. Rubin’s parent company United Ship Corporation is offering this in partnership with an Indian company. Deputy Director General for foreign activities of Rubin Design Bureau, Andrei Baranov said that the Amur 1650 is an advanced conventional submarine capable of fulfilling any mission required from this class of submarines “whereas P75I is an Indian specific submarine, with its own particular requirements and it is therefore another project.” However, the prototype for this would be the Amur 1650, with displacement of 1650 tonnes when surfaced, a length of 66.7 meters, range of 6000 km and endurance of 45 days.
Developed by Russia’s Rubin is the Amur 1650 submarine
Germany
According to reports, Thyssen Krupp Marine Systems (TKMS) is offering six Invincible-class submarines. The Invincible-class or Type 218 is built by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) and is the latest conventional platform from Germany, with Singapore as first customer of the type. The 75m long submarine has a surface displacement of 2200 tonnes and an endurance of 84 days, and believed by some experts to feature the Li-Ion battery as well. The previous offer from TKMS was for the Type-214 (an export variant of Type 212). As TKMS India Managing Director Gurnad Sodhi stated, “Virtually no shipyard in the world has more experience in designing and constructing conventional submarines than does TKMS Business Unit HDW”. While praising its anti-surface and anti-submarine capability, Sodhi reiterated that its AIP is the “best available in the market”.
Invincible Class or Type 218 submarine being launched for the Singapore Navy
Spain
The Spanish defence industry, especially its naval sector, has an enviable reputation. Navantia is offering Isaac Peral-class, the S-80 Plus/Flight 2 submarines, with air-independent-propulsion developed jointly by Spanish company Abengoa and American Collins Aerospace. The submarine has a length of 80.81 m, displacement of 2695 tonnes and endurance of 50 days. In future, the platform would be able to operate UAVs, UUVs and AAWs. Navantia is also exploring options to install Li-Ion battery, thus greatly enhancing the capability.
Navantia’s S-80
South Korea
The Dosan Anh Changho-class is likely to be a contender from South Korea. This advanced submarine from Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) was developed for the South Korean Navy, and will later also feature Li-Ion batteries. According to reports, the Batch III will be offered to the Indian Navy, the most advanced version of the class, and likely to feature a High-Temperature Superconductor (HTS) motor for integrated full electric propulsion system as well. The 83.5 m long submarine will have a displacement of 3358 tonnes and an endurance of 50 days. However this submarine will only be ready by 2025.
France
India’s Mazagon Dock Limited is presently manufacturing six Kalvari-class submarines under transfer of technology, which is a modified version of Scorpene-class originally designed by Direction des Constructions Navales or DCNS (and now renamed as the Naval Group). “The close cooperation between India and France in enhancing India›s naval capability has definitely given France better chance than any other contender in this project”, according to company officials. Initially an enlarged version of the Scorpene-class was offered, but now offered is the SMX 3.0, one of the latest conventional platforms developed. It is 85 m long and has a surface displacement of 3000 tonnes. The French FC2G AIP gives it an endurance of 45 days. Along with the F21 torpedo and SM 39 Exocet tube launched cruise missile, France has recently offered the Naval Cruise Missile for land attack purposes.
SMX-3 image: DCNS/Naval Group
The SMX-3 model at Euronaval Exhibition, France
Larsen & Toubro and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders have been shortlisted as the two Indian firms who will eventually work with one of the selected five foreign firms to manufacture the platform in India. The request-for-proposal is expected to be released soon.
Sankalan Chattopadhyay (Twitter @VinodDX9)