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The Diplomat
14-07-2025
- Business
- The Diplomat
Nudging Indigenization: Competition in India's AIP Submarine Program
Project-76 (P-76) is aimed at developing six indigenous air independent propulsion (AIP) fitted conventional submarines (SSKs), an endeavor that represents India's naval technological leapfrogging. Reflecting motivated competition within the Narendra Modi administration's Atmanirbhar Bharat ('Self-Reliant India') mission, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) on March 18 revealed that the company's in-house team is crafting a design to compete with the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) proposal for P-76. With its decades-long submarine building know-how, MDL is in talks with the Indian Navy (IN) to ensure that its design is in sync with IN's requirements. The design phase, intended to be completed by 2028, would be ready around the same time as DRDO's, meaning that both designs will compete for the contract. While DRDO awaits Cabinet Committee on Security approval for its proposal, this 'double-barreled approach' could prove a boon for the IN. The IN would have two options from which to select the best fit. This presents the IN with an alternative if one of the projects faces delays, which remains a constant feature in India's naval procurement. More importantly, competition between the two Ministry of Defense administered entities for P-76 could work as a driver of innovation, eventually resulting in the growth of India's submarine industrial base, while aligning with Delhi's objective on self-reliance in defense. This case reflects the significance of competition between defense contractors. For example, in the U.S., major American defense corporations such as Newport News Shipbuilding Co. and General Dynamics have been known to contend for similar U.S. Navy submarine contracts, a dynamic that eventually led to the construction of technically advanced and cost-effective platforms, including the Los Angeles- and Virginia-class submarines. Naturally, the U.S. Congress and successive presidential administrations have long viewed the existence of economic competition within the defense industry as an important policy priority. India's Ministry of Defense and the IN could benefit from competition-induced innovation and cost-related silver linings. Another factor that reflects MDL's involvement in P-76 and comes at an opportune moment is attributed to the Defense Ministry's approval of the joint bid of MDL and Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) to construct six SSKs under Project-75 India (P-75I). With commercial negotiations left before the contract is formalized, P-75I and P-76 are likely to progress almost in parallel. If the P-76 materializes as planned, and commercial talks for P-75I do not witness significant differences over cost, it could benefit MDL's indigenous design and development for P-76 by transfer of technology through P-75I. The Ministry of Defense's strategic logic at the inception of the submarine development program in 1999 was that India would conceive an indigenous SSK design by integrating both the design philosophies of P-75 and its technologically advanced successor P-75I. While the latter is yet to start, the logic not only remains but has been reinforced with the advent of advanced technologies like AIP, lithium-ion batteries, vertical launch and electronic warfare systems. Naturally, the IN's core objective now is to integrate the latest technologies of P-75I with indigenous SSK construction, which makes the MDL an ideal player for P-76. The first submarine to be constructed under the P-75I will have at least 45 percent indigenous content, which would progressively be increased to 60 percent by the sixth platform. Moreover, the argument that MDL's involvement (in addition to DRDO) will stretch available resources remains superficial. MDL has not planned any project-specific additional funding from the Ministry of Defense and is reliant on its existing budgetary support. The company's portfolio and facilities for submarine construction, besides the workforce, exemplify MDL as the most viable industrial option. First, MDL has been involved in building submarines since 1984. It possesses a distinctive legacy as the only yard to build (in foreign collaboration) two different types of submarines – the Shishumar class and Kalvari class. The collaboration between MDL and its German partner Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) in the 1980s to build six Shishumar-class submarines, wherein four submarines were constructed in MDL's yard, laid the foundation of India's indigenous submarine construction journey. Notwithstanding the corruption allegations by HDW, the partnership was a major milestone as it provided MDL with the required exposure to the technical aspects of submarine construction. Today, with the P-75I, MLD-TKMS collaboration represents a more substantive joint venture. All six submarines would be constructed indigenously, with India gaining full transfer of technology of the hull design and AIP technology. This collaboration would not only boost MDL's technical and industrial capabilities for developing SSKs but also supplement IN's standing as a 'builder's navy.' Second, MDL's status as a submarine construction hub is undergirded by its specialized facilities. MDL houses several specialized workshops, including for series construction and sub-section assembly, besides a weapon integration facility for submarine construction. It is also in the process of setting up a state-of-the-art design and engineering center for the design of submarines, which would be indispensable for the indigenous design of SSKs going forward. With its augmented infrastructure, the construction capacity of MDL has increased from 6 to 11 submarines with parallel construction lines. The submarine assembly workshop, in addition to the various infrastructure facilities created under the Mazdock Modernization Project, makes MDL a reliable partner for meeting the IN's long-term needs of submarine construction. Third, lessons have been learned from the suspension of the Shishumar program, resulting in the loss of knowledge and skills. In recent years, MDL has made conscious efforts toward effective utilization and retention of the indispensable hard-acquired submarine construction skills of the workforce. To preserve the capabilities gained during the construction of the Kalvari-class submarine, MDL has gainfully employed the workforce on similar jobs to the extent feasible. That factor also underpins MDL's involvement in P-76. The writing was on the wall for MDL to enter the fray of P-76. For a project that aims for 90 to 95 percent indigenous content, the competition generated by MDL's entry is welcome news for the growth of India's indigenous defense industry, and a much-needed impetus to the laggard procurement.
New Indian Express
10-07-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Mazagon Dockyard to finalise two submarine projects this financial year
TNIE on July 7 had reported that "Project 75-India (I) and Project 75 (add-ons) are under advanced stages of the Cost Negotiation being done by the Committee (Cost Negotiation Committee-CNC)." Project 75-India, along with Germany's tkMS (thyssenkrupp Marine Systems), is for the construction of six advanced conventional submarines, with an estimated cost of Rs 70,000 crore. Project 75 (add-ons) is for the construction of three Scorpene-class submarines, costing approximately Rs 36,000 crore. The stipulated delivery timeline to Navy, as per Jamgaonkar, is set at seven years for the first submarine under P-75I after the contract is signed, with the rest at the rate of one per year. As for the indigenised contents, the first submarine under P-75I is planned to have a minimum of 45%, which rises up to 60% in the sixth. Talking about the capability, the MDL can simultaneously build 11 submarines and 10 destroyers, said Commander V Puranik (retd), Director (corporate planning and personnel), MDL. Timeline for the first of the three P75 (add ons) Scorpene submarines will be six years after the contract is signed, Jamgaonkar said. The other two will come one per year thereafter. "MDL is ready and configured for this project. We will hit the ground running as skilled labour is there and the supply chain is in place," he said. It was in January this year that MDL delivered the last of the six Kalvari-class (Scorpene) diesel-electric attack submarines. It included the technology transfer from the French firm, Naval Group, under the Rs 23,500 crore Project 75 (P-75). The last submarine commissioned was INS Vaghsheer. The impetus to P-75I came with tkMS in January being confirmed as the foreign Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) partner of the MDL under MoD's Strategic Partnership (SP) model.
Hindustan Times
09-07-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
MDL to get submarine contracts worth over ₹1 lakh crore in FY25-26
Public sector yard Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) is likely to get two separate contracts from the central government to build submarines for the Indian Navy worth more than ₹1.06 lakh crore before financial year 2025-26 ends, officials aware of the matter said on Wednesday. The Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited. The first contract is the ₹70,000-crore Project 75I under which the Mumbai-based MDL and German yard thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (tkMS) will build six advanced submarines to sharpen the navy's underwater capabilities. The second contract estimated to be worth ₹36,000 crore is for constructing three more Scorpene-class submarines to bolster the country's maritime posture in the Indian Ocean region. The contract negotiation committee is set to begin discussions to finalise the commercial and technical terms for P-75I, and negotiations for the additional Scorpene-class submarines have been completed, said Commodore SB Jamgaonkar (retd), director (submarine and heavy engineering), MDL. 'We are looking forward to executing the two projects. The two deals are likely to be signed before March 31, 2026,' he said. The first submarine under P-75I will be delivered to the navy seven years after the contract is signed, with the rest at the rate of one per year, Jamgaonkar said. These advanced submarines, a variant of HDW Class 214 vessels, will come with air independent propulsion (AIP) systems. AIP significantly increases a submarine's underwater endurance and reduces the risk of detection. As part of the contract, tkMS will transfer the submarine's design and technology to India, enabling the goal of self-reliance in the defence manufacturing sector. The first submarine under P-75I must have a minimum of 45% indigenisation, with the local content going up to 60% in the sixth. MDL and tkMS edged out their only competitor the Larsen & Toubro-Navantia combine for this order. MDL has the capability to simultaneously build 11 submarines and 10 destroyers, said Commander V Puranik (retd), director (corporate planning and personnel), MDL. The first of the three new Scorpene-class submarines will be delivered six years after the contract is signed, Jamgaonkar said. The other two will be at the rate of one per year. 'MDL is ready and configured for this project. We will hit the ground running as skilled labour is there and the supply chain is in place,' he said. MDL has already built six Kalvari-class (Scorpene) diesel-electric attack submarines with technology transfer from the French firm, Naval Group, under a ₹23,562-crore programme called P-75. The navy commissioned the last of these six submarines, INS Vaghsheer in January 2025. In December 2024, the defence ministry signed two separate contracts worth ₹2,867 crore to strengthen the navy's underwater capabilities --- for retrofitting its Kalvari-class submarines with AIP systems to enhance their endurance, and integration of electronic heavy-weight torpedoes to boost their firepower capabilities. The ministry then signed a ₹1,990-crore contract with MDL for the construction of AIP plug for the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)-AIP system and its integration on the conventional submarines, and another contract worth ₹877 crore with Frances's Naval Group for integration of the torpedoes to augment firepower capabilities of the Kalvari-Class submarines. These submarines are capable of various missions such as anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, long-range strikes, special operations, and intelligence. The AIP system will be retrofitted when it's ready and the submarines come for refit.
