The ET reports that Germany and India are poised to sign a deal worth over $8 billion for the supply of six SSKs, with transfer of technology, during Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s visit to India next week
Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) and Indian state-owned Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd. (MDL) will work together to manufacture the vessels.
In August 2024, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) cleared MDL to build six submarines in partnership with Germany’s TKMS.
The diesel-electric submarines, being procured by the MoD under Project 75I, will feature Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) and will be larger and more advanced than the current Indian Navy (IN) submarines.
TKMS, which had initially declined to bid for Project 75I 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—having built 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.
There are three possible explanations:
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 mantra, the Government of India continues to use defence procurement as a geopolitical ingratiation tool.
3. Indian shipyards capable of building submarines are fully committed to existing submarine projects.
The Need for Fast-Paced Procurement
We will set aside the first two explanations as overly speculative and assume that Project 75I procurement through a foreign OEM is driven by the Indian Navy’s urgent operational need to replenish its ageing submarine fleet.
It is noteworthy that the Indian Navy had initially stipulated that only operational submarine designs would be considered under Project 75I. 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 75I was initiated were extremely ambitious. They included construction of all boats at Indian shipyards, fitment of DRDO-developed AIP, and the ability to launch land-attack cruise missiles (LACMs).
The draft RFI mandated that, in addition to DRDO-developed AIP, 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 was able to meet 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 75I, after multiple deadline extensions, culminating in July 2023. However, Spain's Navantia was unable to immediately demonstrate an AIP system while submerged, having demonstrated the system only on a surfaced submarine.
Procurement negotiations progressed under the Strategic Partnership model of the defence acquisition procedure. 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.
HDW later became a subsidiary of TKMS following its acquisition in January 2005.
Under the 1981 contract, HDW was to build two submarines in Kiel, Germany, and supply knock-down kits to MDL for assembling two more submarines in Mumbai.
In 1984, an agreement was announced for the construction of two additional submarines at MDL, but this was subsequently cancelled due to the economic crisis of the late 1980s.
Shishumar-class submarines were commissioned between 1986 and 1994. These submarines displace 1,660 tons when surfaced, have a top speed of 22 knots (41 km/h), and carry a complement of 40 personnel, including eight officers.
In 2018, the Indian Navy awarded a $151 million contract for the Medium Refit and Life Certification (MRLC) of INS Shishumar. MDL carried out the refit in Mumbai with technical cooperation from TKMS.
TKMS also supplied new equipment, maintenance and component support, on-site technical assistance, documentation, training, and spare parts. The MRLC aimed to extend the submarine’s service life by a decade.
TKMS in Good Financial Health
A year back, there were concerns about the financial health of TKMS. However, the conglomerate is now in good financial health having won major submarine orders.
Under the German–Norwegian 212CD programme, TKMS will build six boats each for Germany and Norway, modernise six Type 212A submarines for Germany, and build four Type 212A submarines for Singapore.
Additional orders that TKMS is likely to secure—besides the six Project 75I submarines for India—include up to 12 boats for Canada and two Type 218SG boats for Singapore
Conclusion
The DAC approved procurement of 6 submarines under Project 75I in October 2014.
Project 75I has been delayed primarily because the Indian Navy drafted qualitative requirements that were excessively ambitious.
This import was not inevitable. Had the Indian Navy set realistic qualitative requirements at the outset, L&T—armed with SSN-building experience—could have built what the Navy is now buying from TKMS, filling gaps through partners of its own choosing.
The Indian Navy may then have obtained far more than it is getting now—including submarines built with Indian steel, missiles (vertical launch Brahmos), torpedoes, and full intellectual property rights for future exports.
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