In one of the major decisions in the last few months, the Government on Friday gave the nod for a mega Defence deal worth over Rs 50,000 crore for the construction of six submarines in the country. A global tender will shortly be floated for this deal.
The decision will help the Navy to bolster its submarine fleet strength and thwart any challenge from China, which flexes its maritime muscle in the Indian Ocean.
Beside approving this big ticket item, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also allowed procurement of air defence guns and ammunition for the Army. The projected cost of this contract is Rs 6,800 crore. The DAC is the apex body to approve the Defence deals.
In another important decision, the DAC also extended the timelines for procuring urgent capital acquisitions under the delegated powers to the armed forces up to August 31, 2021, to enable them to complete their emergency procurements.
As regards the much-awaited submarine deal, also known as Project-75 I, officials said here the submarines will be built under the strategic partnership policy.
Aimed at propelling the Indian defence industry on to the world stage, the policy allows the domestic defence manufacturers to join hands with leading foreign defence majors to produce high-end weapon systems. They include warships, helicopters, submarines and long-range guns.
The Defence Ministry said about the proposed submarine deal “this project envisages indigenous construction of six conventional submarines equipped with the state-of-the-art air-independent propulsion system at an estimated cost of Rs 43,000 crore.”
“This is a landmark approval, being the first case processed under the strategic partnership model. This would be one of the largest ‘Make in India’ projects and will serve to facilitate faster and more significant absorption of technology and create a tiered industrial ecosystem for submarine construction in India,” it said in a statement.
The Ministry said the project will help reduce current dependence on imports and gradually ensure greater self-reliance and dependability of supplies from indigenous sources.
“With accord of this approval, the country will be enabled to achieve its 30-year submarine construction programme envisioned by the government to acquire national competence in submarine construction and for the Indian industry to independently design and construct submarines in India,” it said.
The availability of new technologies and advanced manufacturing capabilities to the industry will be an important step towards enhancing the nation’s quest for self-reliance in modern conventional submarine construction, the government said. It will also create direct and indirect job opportunities, officials said.
The project will be implemented in a period of around 12 years and the final cost may go up depending on the weapons systems to be incorporated into the stealth submarines.
Sources said the DAC approved the issuance of the Request for Proposal (RFP) or tender to shipbuilder Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and state-owned Mazagaon Docks Ltd (MDL).
Both L&T and MDL will have to respond to the RFP by tying up with one of the five already short-listed foreign shipyards which are Rosoboronexport (Russia), Daewoo (South Korea), ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (Germany), Navantia (Spain) and Naval Group (France).
It will be for the L&T and MDL to decide about the foreign entity they would like to collaborate with for the project.
The RFP is expected to be issued within a month and the contract will be awarded following a detailed evaluation of the response of the L&T and MDL, the sources said.
The groundwork like specifications of submarines and other critical requirements for issuance of the RFP for the mega project has been completed by separate teams of the Defence Ministry and the Indian Navy.
At present, the Indian Navy has 15 conventional submarines powered by diesel engines and two nuclear powered submarines. Most of the submarines are fast approaching the end of their operational life and the Navy plans to have at least 24 submarines in the next few years.
Compared to this, China already has 50 submarines and is rapidly modernizing its maritime capabilities. Also, it has started flexing its muscle in the strategically important Indian Ocean region.
Apart from the submarines, the Navy is also in the process of procuring 57 carrier-borne fighter jets, 111 Naval Utility Helicopters (NUH) and 123 multi-role helicopters under the strategic partnership model. The naval utility helicopter deal is worth over Rs 21, 000 crore and may take off soon, sources said.
Last August, the Defence Ministry had announced that India will stop the import of 101 weapons and military platforms like transport aircraft, light combat helicopters, conventional submarines, cruise missiles and sonar systems by 2024.
A second negative list, putting import restrictions on 108 military weapons and systems such as next-generation corvettes, airborne early warning systems, tank engines and radars, was issued this week.
The Defence Ministry has set a goal of a turnover of Rs 1.75 lakh crore in defence manufacturing in the next five years that included an export target of Rs 35,000 crore worth of military hardware.
Even as the Government okayed the mega submarine project, India has started the process of returning its nuclear-powered submarine INS Chakra to Russia. The Indian Navy had hired this Akula class submarine on a ten-year lease which expires in next few months.
The Russian built submarine operated entirely by the Indian crew is now on its way back to mother base in Vladivostok, Russia escorted by Indian and Russian warships.
The submarine was leased to India for two billion dollars for a ten-year period in 2012. Prior to that also, India had leased a Russian submarine for ten years.
The 8,200 ton INS Chakra will be replaced by a more advanced variant of the same class of submarine which will also be known by the name Chakra. A three-billion dollar deal was signed in March 2019 with Russia for a ten-year lease for the new submarine, the delivery of which is expected by 2025.
The Indian crew gained expertise in handling the highly sophisticated nuclear submarines and some of the personnel graduated to manning the indigenously designed and manufactured nuclear submarine INS Arihant which is now operational. India is manufacturing five more submarines of this class and they will join service in the next five to six years.