Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders (MDL) and Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) have secured approval for their joint bid to construct six advanced conventional submarines for the Indian Navy.
Indian government-owned MDL confirmed the development in a disclosure statement last week.
“MDL confirms that the Ministry of Defence has opened the Commercial bid submitted by MDL for further processing,” the statement read.
The Hindu revealed, citing sources, that the bid was accepted on technical grounds, edging out the proposals made by India’s Larsen & Toubro and Spain’s Navantia.
“The commercial negotiations will now commence based on the price quoted in the bid submitted,” the Indian outlet quoted a source as saying.
A decade ago, the deal’s benchmark price was 430 billion Indian rupees (around $5 billion).
The final cost is likely to increase significantly, with some estimates suggesting it could reach 700 billion Indian rupees (around $8.55 billion).
The project will boost the Indian Navy’s capability against the growing Chinese Navy presence in the Indian Ocean.
The underwater vessels are required to be built in India with significant Indigenous content: 45 per cent for the first boat and 60 per cent for the last.
The key requirement, however, was air-independent propulsion (AIP) technology, which allows a diesel-electric submarine to stay underwater longer, enhancing its stealth.
A fuel cell-based AIP system recharges the underwater vessel’s batteries by converting chemical energy into electrical energy without noise or combustion.
This allows the vessel to stay submerged for over two weeks, staying hidden from potential threats.
A non-AIP submarine, in comparison, needs to surface every few days to charge its batteries.
The MDL-TKMS proposal is based on Class 214 and Class 212CD submarines, featuring operational AIP.
The other offer is based on Navantia’s S80 class, which is being upgraded with the capability and hence is not operationally proven.
According to The Hindu, the AIP module offered by Navantia has only been demonstrated on a submarine while operating on the surface, not submerged.
A submerged demonstration will take place in due course.
The Hindu reported, citing a TKMS assurance given to the Indian government, that the AIP module on the winning bid will be an enhanced version of the one currently operational.
The outlet added, citing a company official, that it has a polymer electrolyte membrane-based and lithium ion-based fuel cell for enhanced performance.
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