MDL to get submarine contracts worth over ₹1 lakh crore in FY25-26
The first contract is the ₹70,000-crore Project 75I under which the Mumbai-based MDL and German yard thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (tkMS) will build six advanced submarines to sharpen the navy's underwater capabilities. The second contract estimated to be worth ₹36,000 crore is for constructing three more Scorpene-class submarines to bolster the country's maritime posture in the Indian Ocean region.
The contract negotiation committee is set to begin discussions to finalise the commercial and technical terms for P-75I, and negotiations for the additional Scorpene-class submarines have been completed, said Commodore SB Jamgaonkar (retd), director (submarine and heavy engineering), MDL.
'We are looking forward to executing the two projects. The two deals are likely to be signed before March 31, 2026,' he said.
The first submarine under P-75I will be delivered to the navy seven years after the contract is signed, with the rest at the rate of one per year, Jamgaonkar said.
These advanced submarines, a variant of HDW Class 214 vessels, will come with air independent propulsion (AIP) systems. AIP significantly increases a submarine's underwater endurance and reduces the risk of detection. As part of the contract, tkMS will transfer the submarine's design and technology to India, enabling the goal of self-reliance in the defence manufacturing sector.
The first submarine under P-75I must have a minimum of 45% indigenisation, with the local content going up to 60% in the sixth. MDL and tkMS edged out their only competitor the Larsen & Toubro-Navantia combine for this order.
MDL has the capability to simultaneously build 11 submarines and 10 destroyers, said Commander V Puranik (retd), director (corporate planning and personnel), MDL.
The first of the three new Scorpene-class submarines will be delivered six years after the contract is signed, Jamgaonkar said. The other two will be at the rate of one per year.
'MDL is ready and configured for this project. We will hit the ground running as skilled labour is there and the supply chain is in place,' he said.
MDL has already built six Kalvari-class (Scorpene) diesel-electric attack submarines with technology transfer from the French firm, Naval Group, under a ₹23,562-crore programme called P-75. The navy commissioned the last of these six submarines, INS Vaghsheer in January 2025.
In December 2024, the defence ministry signed two separate contracts worth ₹2,867 crore to strengthen the navy's underwater capabilities --- for retrofitting its Kalvari-class submarines with AIP systems to enhance their endurance, and integration of electronic heavy-weight torpedoes to boost their firepower capabilities.
The ministry then signed a ₹1,990-crore contract with MDL for the construction of AIP plug for the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)-AIP system and its integration on the conventional submarines, and another contract worth ₹877 crore with Frances's Naval Group for integration of the torpedoes to augment firepower capabilities of the Kalvari-Class submarines.
These submarines are capable of various missions such as anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, long-range strikes, special operations, and intelligence. The AIP system will be retrofitted when it's ready and the submarines come for refit.
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