Navy Veteran Weighs in on India's Potential Order For Three New French Subs
20:09 26.06.2023 (Updated: 10:01 27.06.2023)
© Photo : Indian Navy
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At present, the Indian submarine fleet has 16 conventional submarines, and apart from the six recently-built subs, the rest are over 30 years old and approaching their decommissioning date.
New Delhi may sign a deal to acquire three new submarines from France's DCNS group during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Paris next month, an Indian Navy veteran told Sputnik on Monday.
In case India moves ahead with the acquisition, this would be an interim measure as New Delhi needs to have a strong submarine presence and capability in the Indian Ocean at a time when arch-foe Pakistan is getting 8 such vessels from its all-weather friend China, retired commodore Anil Jai Singh said.
According to Singh, who serves as the vice-president of the Delhi-based naval think tank Indian Maritime Foundation, this will be an interim measure to meet the immediate shortage of submarines or to overcome the vintage nature of India's submarines.
Besides, Chinese submarines have increased their presence in the Indian Ocean. That's why India needs to have a strong submarine presence and capability.
In case India moves ahead with the acquisition, this would be an interim measure as New Delhi needs to have a strong submarine presence and capability in the Indian Ocean at a time when arch-foe Pakistan is getting 8 such vessels from its all-weather friend China, retired commodore Anil Jai Singh said.
According to Singh, who serves as the vice-president of the Delhi-based naval think tank Indian Maritime Foundation, this will be an interim measure to meet the immediate shortage of submarines or to overcome the vintage nature of India's submarines.
Besides, Chinese submarines have increased their presence in the Indian Ocean. That's why India needs to have a strong submarine presence and capability.
Issues With Proposed Deal With DCNS
"But as I said, it is not that these three submarines are going to come in the next two-three years to meet our immediate requirement. These submarines will also take some years before their contract is signed, costs are discussed and finalized and the construction starts," Singh, who was a specialist submariner for nearly three decades in India's blue water force noted.
The only thing where India has an advantage right now is that it has a shipyard that has already built this class of submarines. Hence, the initial training of people and certain processes have got streamlined, all the teething troubles have got sorted.
He argued that it would be easier to build them and the process would be a bit quicker than a partnership with a new manufacturer. However, the basic time of five-to-six years required to build a submarine would still be there.
At present, India operates five scorpene-class (Kalvari-class in Indian Navy's parlance) submarines, while the sixth is currently undergoing sea trials.
These six conventional diesel-electric submarines with advanced stealth features were built at India's state-owned Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) through a technology transfer from DCNS.
In this context, the former Indian Navy officer mentioned that there have been delays in India's Project-75(I).
These six conventional diesel-electric submarines with advanced stealth features were built at India's state-owned Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) through a technology transfer from DCNS.
In this context, the former Indian Navy officer mentioned that there have been delays in India's Project-75(I).
Navy's Project-75(I) Marred by Delays
Conceived in 1997, Project-75 (India) or P-75(I) program is an initiative of the Indian Navy, planned to procure six diesel-electric submarines. But the project was delayed for several years.
Finally, in 2020, the Indian government named two local shipyards, Larsen & Toubro (L&T), a private-sector company, and the state-run Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited as the two firms who would collaborate with foreign partners for the project.
In July 2021, the Defense Ministry issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the production of six submarines valued at $5.4 billion, the contract is yet to be inked to date.
Singh highlighted that this has led to a position where now the Indian Navy has been left with a lot of old submarines and no new subs are likely to come for another few years. Because the P-75(I) has not been concluded yet.
In the meantime, because India had already built those scorpene-class submarines at MDL, a proposal emerged where the immediate shortfall due to the delay in the P-75(I) could be met by building three more submarines in collaboration with the French since New Delhi has already manufactured six.
That is the fundamental genesis of this DCNS bid to convince the Indian government to take three more submarines from the French firm.
Singh elaborated that this has its issues because six are already built. That means if the remaining three will have to be made, that will also start from scratch, and it's not that every year you will get one.
"Even if they were to start from scratch, it will take at least five to six years to manufacture the first submarine. The signing of the contract will take two-three years. So in any case, for the next 8-9 years we will not get a new submarine, even a French one," the Indian Navy veteran elaborated.
He stressed that the problem with the French submarine would be that if they come away exactly in the same condition as the previous submarines were, then New Delhi won't get the level of submarine technology the government wants in India.
He emphasized that if India demands more indigenous technology or more localization, then the cost will also change, which means again you will have to negotiate the price tag for the new set of submarines which would again take time.
Singh opined that it was not a simple program because it seems that "we could go for three more submarines and they will arrive overnight. [But] it will still take 8-9 or 10 years before the first submarine gets commissioned."
India's Diversification Push Due to Operational Requirements
Regarding diversification, Singh noted that India diversified its whole arms purchasing program: The South Asian nation was getting some weapons from the US, some from France, and for others, it was teaming up with Israel.
The submarine expert remarked that India still had equipment coming from Russia.
"Obviously, the West would be keen to distance India from Russia, but there is a certain amount of confidence in Russian equipment that India has. For example, the S-400 system is coming, and the AK-203 rifles are being made here. The Indian Air Force is still operating so many Russian-made aircraft," Singh underlined.
He explained that it is not that India doesn't want to buy defense equipment from Russia. It is that New Delhi was diversifying because of operational requirements. Therefore, India will choose the submarines which it finds more suitable.
