Berlin/Madrid: The Indian Navy is currently making rapid efforts to acquire submarines of the Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system. This largest submarine acquisition program of the Indian Navy has been named Project 75 or PI-75, for which there is a tough competition between two countries, Germany and Spain. The visit of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to India at the end of this month is being viewed from this perspective.
Leaders of Germany and Spain will be in India
According to The Print report, German Chancellor Scholz will first reach New Delhi on October 25 with a large delegation, which will also include German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. The Print quoted sources as saying that Scholz will leave the next day after bilateral and delegation-level talks with PM Modi. At the same time, the Prime Minister of Spain will come on a three-day visit on October 27.
The two countries are competing for a mega deal to build six new conventional submarines for the Indian Navy. German firm TKMS has signed an agreement with India’s state-run shipyard Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), while Spanish firm Navantia has signed an agreement with private firm L&T.
Spain and Germany both want a deal with India
German Ambassador to India Philipp Ackermann told The Print that defense and military strategy will be discussed during Scholz’s visit to New Delhi. Both countries are seeking allies with India. Both Spain and Germany are understood to be considering a government-to-government deal for the submarine project.
How far has the matter reached in Project-75?
Initially TKMS had not shown interest in bidding for the Indian submarine project, but at the behest of the German government, the firm took a soft stance. Both TKMS and Navantia are awaiting a decision from the Indian Navy. The Navy has reportedly completed the Field Evaluation Test (FET) of the AIP system.
Navantia demonstrated its AIP system, which used a mix of ground and onboard systems for the FET. Now it depends on the Indian Navy whether it considers it suitable or not. Navantia’s API has undergone over 50,000 hours of testing and has been selected by the Spanish Navy.
At the same time, the AIP demonstrated by TCMash was smaller than the expectations of the Indian Navy. The AIP is mounted on Type 214 submarines, which are smaller than the Navy’s required submarines. Therefore they require smaller packs of AIP systems.