Where to now for India’s P75I submarine programme?
This is ROKS Lee Beom-seok, a KSS-II/Type 214 submarine built under licence in South Korea. (Gordon Arthur)
India has some hard decisions to make over its conventional submarine programme, with its current efforts stagnated and the clock ticking.
The Indian Navy (IN) is seeking six Indian-manufactured Project 75I submarines that employ air-independent propulsion (AIP). However, this estimated INR430 billion ($5.6 billion) effort has devolved into a shambles, with no company lodging a response to an RfP issued in July 2021.
Essentially, the wording of the RfP had reduced possible contenders down to only two, despite five foreign shipbuilders being shortlisted to respond.
The document specified that a ‘sea-proven’ fuel cell AIP was to be fitted in the P75I boats. Only ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) in Germany and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) in South Korea could hypothetically
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