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 Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates si ...
. The P-75I class is a follow-on of the
P-75 class submarines of the
Indian Navy
The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates si ...
. 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
Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...
(SOF),
anti-ship warfare (AShW),
anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...
(ASW),
anti-surface warfare
Anti-surface warfare (ASuW or ASUW) is the branch of naval warfare concerned with the suppression of surface combatants. More generally, it is any weapons, sensors, or operations intended to attack or limit the effectiveness of an adversary's s ...
(ASuW),
land-attack capabilities and other features.
All six submarines are expected to be constructed in India, under the
Make in India
Make in India is an initiative by the Government of India to create and encourage companies to develop, manufacture and assemble products made in India and incentivize dedicated investments into manufacturing. The policy approach was to crea ...
initiative.
History
Origins
In 1997, the
Ministry of Defence (MoD) approved a plan to acquire 24 submarines under
Project 75
The ''Kalvari'' class is a class of diesel-electric attack submarines based on the being built for the Indian Navy. The class and submarines take their names from the first submarines inducted in the Indian Navy. The submarines are designed ...
.
After the
Kargil War
The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referr ...
in 1999, the
Cabinet Committee on Security
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) of the Government of India discusses, debates and is the final decision-making body on senior appointments in the national security apparatus, defence policy and expenditure, and generally all matters of Ind ...
(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
Technology transfer (TT), also called transfer of technology (TOT), is the process of transferring (disseminating) technology from the person or organization that owns or holds it to another person or organization, in an attempt to transform invent ...
(ToT) from different foreign manufacturers.
Progress
In 2008, the Indian Navy issued a
Request for Information (RFI) to multiple naval conglomerates - Armaris (now
Naval Group
Naval Group is a major French industrial group specialized in naval defense design, development and construction. Its headquarters are located in Paris.
Heir to the French naval dockyards initiated in 1631 by Cardinal Richelieu and to the Direc ...
),
HDW and
Rosoboronexport
JSC Rosoboronexport (russian: AO Рособоронэкспорт, ''Rosoboroneksport'') is the sole state intermediary agency for Russia's exports/imports of defense-related and dual use products, technologies and services. The Rosoboronexport ...
for six submarines with
air-independent propulsion (AIP) and land-attack capability, that were to be built in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
.
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 . After the project was approved by the DAC in August 2010, an RFI was issued again in September 2010. However, the
RFP was not approved by the CCS due to conflicting opinions between the
Indian Navy
The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates si ...
and the MoD, over the involvement of privately-owned shipyards in the project. Consequently, the approval lapsed and was renewed multiple times till 2013.
In October 2014, the DAC decided to construct all six submarines in India and approved a budget of
INR .
Along with the state-owned
MDL,
HSL, and
Cochin Shipyard Limited
Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) is a shipbuilding facility in India. It is part of a line of maritime-related facilities in the port-city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India.
Of the services provided by the shipyard are building platform suppl ...
(CSL), privately-owned
L&T Shipbuilding and
Pipavav Shipyard (R-Naval) were allowed to bid for the project in collaboration with a foreign shipyard.
In 2017, the
Indian Navy
The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates si ...
issued another RFI, to
Naval Group
Naval Group is a major French industrial group specialized in naval defense design, development and construction. Its headquarters are located in Paris.
Heir to the French naval dockyards initiated in 1631 by Cardinal Richelieu and to the Direc ...
,
Rosoboronexport
JSC Rosoboronexport (russian: AO Рособоронэкспорт, ''Rosoboroneksport'') is the sole state intermediary agency for Russia's exports/imports of defense-related and dual use products, technologies and services. The Rosoboronexport ...
,
ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems
ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems of Germany (often abbreviated TKMS) is a group and holding company of providers of naval vessels, surface ships and submarines. It was founded when large industrial conglomerate ThyssenKrupp acquired Howaldtswerke-Deuts ...
(TKMS),
Saab Kockums,
Navantia
Navantia is a Spanish state-owned shipbuilding company, which offers its services to both military and civil sectors. It is the fifth-largest shipbuilder in Europe and the ninth-largest in the world with shipyards around the globe. The heir to t ...
and
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
is a Japanese multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group and its automobile division is the predecessor of Mitsubishi Mo ...
(MHI). Out of the aforementioned six - only Naval Group, Rosoboronexport, TKMS and Saab responded, while Navantia and Mitsubishi failed to respond within the deadline.
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. After the approval lapsed in February 2018, the DAC renewed the approval with a budget of
INR in January 2019.
In April 2019, an
Expression of Interest
An invitation to tender (ITT, otherwise known as a call for bids or a request for tenders) is a formal, structured procedure for generating competing offers from different potential suppliers or contractors looking to obtain an award of business ...
(EOI) was issued for six submarines capable of firing
land-attack missiles (LAM) and
anti-ship cruise missiles. 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.
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). Shortly after, in September 2019, Saab withdrew from the competition, citing concerns about the rules defined in the ''"Strategic Partnership"'' policy.
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.
Shortlisting
On 21 January 2020, the
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
(GoI) shortlisted two Indian shipyards -
Larsen & Toubro
Larsen & Toubro Ltd, commonly known as L&T, is an Indian multinational conglomerate company, with business interests in engineering, construction, manufacturing, technology, information technology and financial services, headquartered in Mumba ...
(L&T) and
Mazagon Dock Limited
Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) (IAST: ''Majhagānv Dawk Limiṭeḍ''), formerly called Mazagon Dock Limited, is a shipyard situated in Mazagaon, Mumbai. It manufactures warships and submarines for the Indian Navy and offshore platfor ...
(MDL), as the two Indian finalists in P-75I. Concurrently, the GoI also shortlisted five foreign
Original Equipment Manufacturers
An original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is generally perceived as a company that produces non-aftermarket parts and equipment that may be marketed by another manufacturer. It is a common industry term recognized and used by many professional or ...
(OEM), as finalists in P-75I -
ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems
ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems of Germany (often abbreviated TKMS) is a group and holding company of providers of naval vessels, surface ships and submarines. It was founded when large industrial conglomerate ThyssenKrupp acquired Howaldtswerke-Deuts ...
(TKMS) of Germany,
Rubin Design Bureau
Rubin Central Design Bureau for Marine Engineering ( Russian: Центральное конструкторское бюро "Рубин", shortened to ЦКБ "Рубин") in Saint Petersburg is one of three main Russian centers of submarine desi ...
of Russia,
Navantia
Navantia is a Spanish state-owned shipbuilding company, which offers its services to both military and civil sectors. It is the fifth-largest shipbuilder in Europe and the ninth-largest in the world with shipyards around the globe. The heir to t ...
of Spain,
Naval Group
Naval Group is a major French industrial group specialized in naval defense design, development and construction. Its headquarters are located in Paris.
Heir to the French naval dockyards initiated in 1631 by Cardinal Richelieu and to the Direc ...
of France, and
Daewoo Shipping & Marine Engineering (DSME) of South Korea.
The two Indian shipyards respectively, would have to collaborate with the five foreign shortlisted OEM's, for competing in the project.
On 20 July 2021, the MoD formally issued an
RFP for the construction of the six designated submarines, worth , under the ''"Strategic Partnership"'' model.
Nevertheless, the deadline of the RFP, which was initially scheduled for November 2021, was postponed to June 2022, and later again, to December 2022.
Contenders
Foreign contenders
The five foreign naval conglomerates shortlisted by the MoD in January 2020, were
* :- (withdrawn in April 2022)
**
Naval Group
Naval Group is a major French industrial group specialized in naval defense design, development and construction. Its headquarters are located in Paris.
Heir to the French naval dockyards initiated in 1631 by Cardinal Richelieu and to the Direc ...
: Offered a diesel-electric variant of the
nuclear attack submarine
An SSN is a nuclear-powered general-purpose attack submarine. ''SSN'' is the US Navy hull classification symbol for such vessels; the ''SS'' denotes a submarine and the ''N'' denotes nuclear power. The designation SSN is used for interoperabili ...
. Is also reported to be alternatively offering an enhanced variant of the .
* :- (withdrawn in August 2021)
**
ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems
ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems of Germany (often abbreviated TKMS) is a group and holding company of providers of naval vessels, surface ships and submarines. It was founded when large industrial conglomerate ThyssenKrupp acquired Howaldtswerke-Deuts ...
: Offered the
Type 214 submarine
The Type 214 is a diesel-electric submarine developed by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft GmbH (HDW). It features diesel propulsion with an air-independent propulsion (AIP) system using Siemens polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) hydrogen fuel cell ...
.
* :-
**
Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering
Hanwha Ocean Co., Ltd. (), formerly known as Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. (DSME; ), is one of the "Big Three" shipbuilders of South Korea, along with Hyundai and Samsung.
History
On 21 February 2011, the A. P. Moller-Ma ...
: Offered a 3000 t variant of the
KSS-III submarine, designated as the DSME-3000.
* :- (withdrawn in February 2022)
**
Rubin Design Bureau
Rubin Central Design Bureau for Marine Engineering ( Russian: Центральное конструкторское бюро "Рубин", shortened to ЦКБ "Рубин") in Saint Petersburg is one of three main Russian centers of submarine desi ...
: Offered a variant of the , designated as the ''Amur''-1650.
* :-
**
Navantia
Navantia is a Spanish state-owned shipbuilding company, which offers its services to both military and civil sectors. It is the fifth-largest shipbuilder in Europe and the ninth-largest in the world with shipyards around the globe. The heir to t ...
: Offered the
S-80 Plus submarine.
Local shipyards
The two Indian shipyards shortlisted by the MoD, were
* :-
**
Larsen & Toubro Shipbuilding: Has assisted in the development and construction of the
nuclear-powered
Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...
ballistic missile submarine
A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine capable of deploying submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with nuclear warheads. The United States Navy's hull classification symbols for ballistic missile submarines are SSB and SSBN – t ...
s, since 2009.
* :-
**
Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited
Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) ( IAST: ''Majhagānv Dawk Limiṭeḍ''), formerly called Mazagon Dock Limited, is a shipyard situated in Mazagaon, Mumbai. It manufactures warships and submarines for the Indian Navy and offshore pl ...
: Currently manufacturing six ''Scorpène''-class attack submarines, under P-75, of which four have been delivered. Also
license manufactured two
Type 209/1500 attack submarines, between 1984 and 1994.
Developments
Elimination of contenders
In July 2021, MDL issued an RFI to the five foreign contenders, seeking a partner that has a functional air-independent propulsion (AIP) system that has been tested and proved on operational submarine.
[ Unfortunately, three of the five contenders, namely, France, Russia and Spain, did not possess any functional submarine equipped with a sea-proven AIP system, eliminating them from the competition.][ South Korea and Germany were the only nations to have possessed AIP-tested submarines, making them the only qualified competitors in the program.
In August 2021, TKMS withdrew from the program, citing its incapacity to satisfy several technical conditions. The firm highlighted its inability to respond to the tender's short timeline and had disagreed on several technical clauses - specifically on the issues of liability, technology-transfer and proportion of indigenous content. The firm's withdrawal from the competition thus left DSME as the only qualified contender, creating a "single-vendor situation" - a condition in which only one contestant is qualified to participate in a bidding process.]
In February 2022, Rosoboronexport
JSC Rosoboronexport (russian: AO Рособоронэкспорт, ''Rosoboroneksport'') is the sole state intermediary agency for Russia's exports/imports of defense-related and dual use products, technologies and services. The Rosoboronexport ...
withdrew from the tender, citing its inability to comply with the tender's requirements; nevertheless, the firm offered a compensatory deal of new Upgraded Kilo-class submarines, along with decommissioned Original Kilo-class submarines, as an interim option to reinforce the Indian Navy's declining submarine fleet.
In April 2022, Naval Group withdrew from the tender, citing an inability to comply with its requirements of providing a sea-proven AIP system.
Following the withdrawal of several contenders on account of their respective inabilities to comply with the project's requirements, the MoD postponed the deadline of the tender from November 2021 to June 2022, and later once more, to December 2022.
Gallery
File:INS Vela (S24) during its commissioning ceremony.jpg, The , designed by Naval Group
Naval Group is a major French industrial group specialized in naval defense design, development and construction. Its headquarters are located in Paris.
Heir to the French naval dockyards initiated in 1631 by Cardinal Richelieu and to the Direc ...
.
File:Chegada do submarino NRP Tridente à Base Naval do Alfeite.jpg, The Type 214 submarine
The Type 214 is a diesel-electric submarine developed by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft GmbH (HDW). It features diesel propulsion with an air-independent propulsion (AIP) system using Siemens polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) hydrogen fuel cell ...
, designed by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems
ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems of Germany (often abbreviated TKMS) is a group and holding company of providers of naval vessels, surface ships and submarines. It was founded when large industrial conglomerate ThyssenKrupp acquired Howaldtswerke-Deuts ...
.
See also
Other References to the Indian Navy
* Submarines of the Indian Navy
This is a list of known submarines of the Indian Navy, grouped by class, and pennant numbers within the class.
In service
Under construction
Planned
Decommissioned
See also
; Indian navy related lists
* Aircraft of the Ind ...
* Future of the Indian Navy
The Indian Navy has been focusing on developing indigenous platforms, systems, sensors and weapons as part of the nation's modernisation and expansion of its maritime forces. As of November 2022, the Indian Navy has 45 vessels of various types ...
References
External links
*
Expression of Interest For six P 75(i) Submarines for Indian Navy
{{Submarines of the Indian Navy
Attack submarines
Submarine classes
Submarines of the Indian Navy