Indian Navy’s most important weapon construction program, the Ministry of Defence (MoD), issued a tender on Tuesday for building six conventional submarines, at an Indian shipyard, in a technology partnership with a chosen global original equipment manufacturer (OEM). The MoD has pegged the cost of six submarines at about Rs 43,000 crore.

This means that each boat (navies traditionally refer to submarines as ‘boats’) will cost a staggering $1 billion.
The MoD has pegged the cost of six submarines at about Rs 43,000 crore. This means that each boat (navies traditionally refer to submarines as “boats”) will cost a staggering $1 billion.

This six-submarine acquisition, codenamed Project-75(I), follows from the ongoing Project 75 – the construction of six conventional Scorpene boats by Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), with technology supplied by Naval Group of France.

Three of the six Scorpenes have already joined the navy’s fleet. The remaining three are expected to participate by 2023.

“Project-75(I) envisages indigenous construction of six modern conventional submarines… with contemporary equipment, weapons and sensors including fuel-cell based AIP (air-independent propulsion plant), advanced torpedoes, modern missiles and state of the art countermeasure systems,” stated an MoD press release on Tuesday.