2025-01-23 21:56:00 :
German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp and its Indian partners have emerged as the only contenders for the $5 billion project through field trials of building six advanced conventional submarines for the Indian Navy, according to an exchange filing.
Their potential rival, Spanish state shipbuilder Navantia, in partnership with India’s Larsen & Toubro (L&T), was unable to meet the navy’s requirements during trials to test key technologies in 2024. The project is critical to India’s efforts to modernize its military and enhance its naval capabilities in the face of China’s growing influence in the Indian Ocean region.
Thyssenkrupp’s Indian partner, state-owned Mazhagaon Terminal Shipbuilding Ltd, said in an exchange filing on Thursday that field trials of the project were successful and India’s defense ministry has invited the company for commercial talks next week .
The Ministry of Defense, L&T and its submarine partners did not respond to requests for comment. A key requirement of the project is air-independent propulsion (AIP) technology that will enable the diesel-electric attack submarine to remain underwater for more than two weeks. Traditional submarines without AIP technology must surface every few days to recharge their batteries.
According to the non-profit Nuclear Threat Initiative, the 17 conventional submarines currently operated by the Indian Navy do not have AIP technology, while India’s neighbors China and Pakistan have AIP technology.
Analysts say the project for six new submarines has been delayed for more than a decade, with the first of them now expected to be built within three to five years of the contract. About half of India’s conventional submarines have undergone multiple upgrades and modifications over the past few years and are nearing the end of their production lives.
(1 USD = 86.5025 Indian Rupees)
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