India set to import German AIP Submarines in $8 Billion deal after 10 years

   NEW DELHI: Germany and India are reportedly poised to sign a deal worth over $8 billion for the supply of sixSSKs (Submersible Ship Hunter-Killer)submarines, with transfer of technology, during Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s visit to India.
Germany’s Thyss enkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) and Indian state- owned Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd. (MDL) will work together to manufacture the vessels.
In August 2024, the Ministry ofDefence (MoD) cleared MDI to build six submarines in partnership with Germany’s TKMS.
The diesel-electric submarines,being procured by the MoD under Project 751, will feature Air Independent Propulsion (ALP) and will be larger and more advanced than the current Indian Navy (IN) submarines.
TKMS, which had initially declined to bid for Project 751 due to the RFP’s “Terms and conditions,” entered the competition after the German government backed the project.
Why the Need for Import ?
It is intriguing that India, havingbuilt four SSBNs and currently building two SSNs (with a total of six SSNS planned), still needs to acquire SSKs from Germany, especially after already inducting seven Scorpene class SSKs with technology transfer from France.
1. The SSBNs and SSNs are being built in India with foreign (Russian?) assistance, assemblies, equipment, and materials. No real ToT took place as part of Project 75.
2. Despite trumpeting the Atmanirbhar Bharat (self reliance)
mantra, the Government of India continues to use defence procurement as a geopolitical ingratiation tool.
NEW DELHI: In a significant step towards positioning Chhattisgarh as a major hub for agricultural and processed food exports, the Regional Office of the Agricultural and Processed
Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) was inaugurated at Raipur during the 2nd India International
Rice Summit held in Chhattisgarh. The Inauguration was attended by Minister of Health and Family Welfare and Minister
of Medical Education, Government of Chhattisgarh, Shri Shyam Bihari Jaiswal, along with other dignitaries.
Chhattisgarh, with its rich and diverse agri-ecosystem, offers significant export potential across a wide range of
products. These include premium non-basmati rice varieties and Geographical Indication (GI) tagged products such as
3. Indian shipyards capable of building submarines are fully committed to existing submarine projects.
4. The Need for Fast Paced Procurement
5. We will set aside the first two explanations as overly speculative and assume that Project 751 procurement through a foreign OEM is driven by the Indian Navy’s urgent operational need to replenish its ageing submarine fleet.
6. It is noteworthy that the Indian Navy had initially stipulated that only operational submarine designs would be considered under Project 751.
TKMS, however, has proposed a submarine based on its Type 214 design, incorporating specific modifications for the Indian Navy, such as enhanced stealth and AIP. Clearly, TKMS is not offering a fully operational, off-the-shelf design. As such, the possibility of delays runs counter to the objective of fast paced procurement.
According to Khalil Rahman, head of TKMS India, the company
successfully demonstrated the AIP capability on its Type 212 submarine during evaluation.
India’s Limited Options The qualitative requirements
(QRs) stipulated by the Indian Navy (IN) when Project 751 was initiated were extremely ambitious. They included construction of all boats at Indian shipyards, fitment of DRDO-developed
Jeeraphool Rice and Nagri Dubraj Rice.
The State also produces a variety of fruits and vegetables including guava, banana, dragon fruit, jackfruit, custard apple,
tomato and cucumber, along with important minor forest produce such as mahua, tamarind, herbal and medicinal plants, providing strong opportunities to expand its presence in global markets.
The establishment of the APEDA Regional Office in Raipur marks an important milestone for Chhattisgarh’s
agrarian economy. The new office will facilitate farmers, producer groups, cooperatives and exporters by providing services such as export registration, advisory support, market intelligence,
certific a ti o n a assist ance , export facilitation, infrastructure development and market linkage support. Recently, the APEDA Regional Office in Raipur also facilitated the export of fortified rice
kernels from Chhattisgarh to Costa Rica and Papua New Guinea.
Addressing the occasion, Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Deo Sai stated that the opening of the APEDA Regional Office in Raipur is a mission to integrate Chhattisgarh’s farmers with the global
AIP, and the ability to launch land-attack cruise missiles (LACMS).
The draft RFI mandated that, in addition to DRDO-developed AIR, the submarine should be fitted with Indian steel, missiles, and torpedoes, including the DRDO-developed heavyweight torpedo.
The Navy also wanted all intellectual property rights for the
submarine to rest with India after the initial batch of six boats, enabling India to export the design.
No submarine OEM met these QRs. As a result, the QRs were repeatedly diluted, delaying procurement by nearly a
decade.
Only Germany and Spain eventually submitted bids for Project 751, after multiple deadline. extensions, culminating in July 2023. However, Spa in’s Navanti a wa s unabl e to immediately demonstrate an AIP system while submerged , having only
demonstrated it on a surfaced submarine.
Procurement negotiations progressed under the Strategic Partnership model of the defence acquisition procedur e . L&T and MDL were shortlisted as Indian partners to collaborate with foreign submarine manufacturers.
Robust Existing MDL-TKMS Relations Fortunately for India, MDL and TKMS share a long-standing working relationship dating back to the early 1980s.
In December 1981, India signed an agreement with Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft (HDW) to procure Shishumar-class diesel-electric attack submarines. The Shishumar boats are
Indian variants of the HDW Type 209, featuring a larger-diameter pressure hull.