Our Bureau
Mumbai
China is increasing its naval prowess and in the midst of that India is looking to strengthen its undersea warfare capabilities by adding new submarines to its arsenal. It was reported this Sunday, on August 31st, that India is highly likely to seal two mega submarine deals. It was reported that the deals would be worth well over Rs 1 lakh crore and will likely be finalised till the middle of next year.
As per the reports, the first project that is under negotiations as of now is regarding the procurement of three Scorpene submarines. These scorpene submarines will be constructed as a joint project of both the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited that is operated by the state and the French defence major Naval Group.
The second project that the Defence Ministry of India is looking to seal is the acquisition of six diesel-electric stealth submarines. This procurement was cleared by the ministry 4 years ago back in 2021 and will now be coming at a cost of around Rs 65,000 crore. The ministry had also cleared the deal involving scorpene submarines two years ago in 2023 but there has been serious delays in negotiations regarding the strengthening of various technical and commercial aspects of the project.
It was reported that the leading German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems is working alongside Mazagon Dock for the project. This project is being marked as one of the biggest ‘Make in India’ initiatives in recent years. If the sources are to be trusted the cost negotiations for the deal will begin soon and in six to nine months the contract is expected to be finalised.
The Indian Navy is keen on firming up both deals as soon as possible as the country is looking to boost its underwater capabilities. And if all goes as per the plan the Scorpene project will be finalised early next year.
