PROJECT-751 FINALLY HAS A SUNRISE !

Project-75I, aimed at acquiring six conventionally-armed submarines to enhance the combat capabilities of the Indian Navy, which will be built domestically has acquired speed. This development occurs nearly thirty years after the program was first proposed, with the intent of addressing significant gaps in maritime capabilities

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India conceived a plan in the late 1990s to procure six conventionally armed submarines with advanced stealth characteristics and long endurance. But twenty-seven years and multiple obstacles later, this crucial Indian Navy submarine project remains in limbo.

The Indian government has finally set the ball rolling on Project-75I for the acquisition of six conventionally-armed submarines to bolster the Indian Navy’s combat capability amid rising security challenges from China and Pakistan. The new submarines, to be constructed locally, will have advanced stealth characteristics and long endurance.

This comes nearly three decades after the program was conceived to fill a major chasm in maritime capability. The delays caused over the years have been attributed to a string of issues ranging from frequent changes in policies to bureaucratic hurdles and the stringent conditions imposed by the Indian Ministry of Defense (MoD).

Project-75I was decided to be carried out in the strategic partnership mode, whereby a local manufacturer teams up with a foreign Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) to carry out the construction. This model was introduced in 2017 to consolidate the domestic industrial base and facilitate technology transfer.

In 2023, two contenders emerged as finalists in the contest: India’s state-run Mazagaon Dock Limited (MDL) with its foreign partner tkMS and private manufacturer L&T with Navantia.

The Indian Navy has been looking for a submarine that meets some critical requirements for modern combat, such as anti-ship warfare (AShW), anti-submarine warfare (ASw), anti-surface warfare (ASuW), intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), special operations forces (SOF), and air-independent propulsion (AIP).