India enlists French help to install AIP in Scorpene submarines
The very first Scorpene produced for the Indian Navy, INS Kalvari, will be fitted with an AIP system. (Photo: Indian Navy)
India has taken an interesting step to add indigenously developed air-independent propulsion to its Scorpene/Kalvari submarines.
Indo-French defence cooperation was boosted on 23 January with an agreement to fit the Defence Research & Development Organisation’s (DRDO) fuel cell-based air-independent propulsion (AIP) system on INS Kalvari.
Work on this Scorpene submarine, commissioned in 2017, will occur when it comes in for a retrofit.
As part of the agreement, Naval Group will extend cooperation for the detailed design phase for integration, and certify the indigenous AIP in six Kalvari-class submarines.
It is likely an acceptance of necessity will be released for three more to be fitted with the DRDO’s AIP.
A Naval Group spokesperson told Shephard
Our news & analysis is now part of Defence Insight®
A Basic-level or higher Defence Insight subscription is now required to view this content.
More from Naval Warfare
-
![Sweden swayed by speed to capability in French frigate win]()
Sweden swayed by speed to capability in French frigate win
Naval Group has secured a contract to supply four Frégate de Défense et d’Intervention frigates to the Royal Swedish Navy, extending the French naval industry’s reach into Northern Europe and showing why speed to capability has become the defining criterion in today’s defence procurement contests.
-
![SOF Week 2026: US NSW explores 3D-printed USVs for forward-deployed operations]()
SOF Week 2026: US NSW explores 3D-printed USVs for forward-deployed operations
US Naval Special Warfare Command is assessing the feasibility of rapidly producing expendable mid-sized USVs in theatre to support SOF and maritime security missions.
-
![Germany’s F126 delays open the door for Rheinmetall’s naval ambitions]()
Germany’s F126 delays open the door for Rheinmetall’s naval ambitions
Germany’s F126 frigate crisis has handed Rheinmetall an opening it had been working towards for years, and the company intends to make the most of it.
-
![SOF Week 2026: MARSOC selects upgraded Shark Marine dive navigation system]()
SOF Week 2026: MARSOC selects upgraded Shark Marine dive navigation system
MARSOC is procuring the Shark Marine Dive Tablet 2 to address a longstanding combat diver navigation capability gap, improving underwater positioning, situational awareness and integration with existing diver propulsion vehicles.
-
![SOF Week 2026: NSW expands commercial UxS push to maritime platforms as USASOC advances FPV drone effort]()
SOF Week 2026: NSW expands commercial UxS push to maritime platforms as USASOC advances FPV drone effort
The US Army Special Operations Command and Naval Special Warfare are accelerating efforts to integrate commercial uncrewed systems, with NSW broadening its solicitation to include USVs and UUVs alongside new requirements for ISR, kinetic operations and swarm technologies.
