Big Chunk Of Indian Navy’s Rs 40,000 Crore Submarine Program Including Missiles, Torpedoes To Be Made In India

Make In India - Government of India initiative to promote local manufacturing is set to get one of its biggest defence orders. Indian Navy in its draft proposals have sent out an invitation to foreign players to participate, share their technology and collaborate to produce next-generation submarines in India.

The project costing around Rs 40,000 crore involves construction of six submarines developed indigenously using Indian steel; the Navy also wants the project’s Missiles, Torpedoes and Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system to be developed in India.

In a report published by Economic Times, the navy also mandates all copyrights for the submarine to be vested to India and post the delivery of the sixth submarine, India will have the unlimited right to produce more of the submarines or modify them.

The project requirements which will be finalised in the coming months will aim to achieve at least 45 per cent of indigenisation with Indian systems that are to fitted on the submarines. The draft also requires foreign players to certify that they will fit the Indigenous AIP system that is currently being shore tested and under development by the DRDO.

AIP is a technology that enables the submarines to stay underwater for weeks without having to resurface for recharging batteries and take in oxygen.

The project which awards special incentive programmes to foreign players who use Indian steel in developing the submarines also requires them to integrate the heavyweight Submarines Torpedo Launched Cruise Missile System (SLCM) developed by Indian agencies.

The SLCM is part of the weapon suite developed indigenously that includes integration of next-generation Brahmos supersonic missile system.