Latest news with #Project-76
India.com
30-07-2025
- Business
- India.com
Stealth, silent strikes, cruise missiles..., India building submarine for the future, here's how Project-76 Submarines could outmatch China
Stealth, silent strikes, cruise missiles..., India building submarine for the future, here's how Project-76 Submarines could outmatch China India has started working on the design of a new advanced submarine. According to reports, the design is expected to be ready within the next one year. This submarine is part of Project-76, and its main goal is to make India self-reliant in underwater defense technology. It will be a next-generation diesel-electric submarine, built with the latest features to strengthen India's navy. The submarine will include stealth technology, which helps it stay hidden from enemy radars, and an Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP) system that lets it stay underwater longer without needing to surface. It will also have powerful long-range cruise missiles for deep-strike capability. The defense company Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has taken on the responsibility to complete this important project. Once ready, these submarines will give India a strong edge in underwater warfare and help protect its maritime interests without depending on foreign technology. Project-76 is being seen as a reset of the earlier Project-75I, where India had to rely heavily on foreign technology. In contrast, Project-76 will be designed and developed entirely in India, making it a big step toward defense self-reliance. Under this project, 12 submarines will be built in total, and the work will be carried out in two separate batches. The second batch of submarines will be even more advanced than the first, using improved technology to better prepare for future challenges and threats in modern naval warfare. India focuses on Submarines to counter growing threats like China There has been a long-running debate in India's defense circles about whether the country should invest more in aircraft carriers or submarines. Some military experts support aircraft carriers, but many are now leaning toward submarines for practical reasons. The main concern with aircraft carriers is that they are huge and easy targets for today's advanced ballistic missiles. Many countries, including rivals, now have these powerful missiles that can strike from long distances. Protecting such a large ship in battle would require extra air defense systems, which are expensive and complex. On the other hand, submarines are much harder to detect. They stay deep underwater, sometimes hundreds of feet below the surface, where spotting them is extremely difficult. If the submarine uses Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP) technology, it becomes even more silent and hidden. Tracking such submarines is like finding a needle in a haystack. This is why many senior officers in the Indian Navy support building more submarines instead of aircraft carriers. According to reports, the submarines that India plans to build under Project-76 will use AIP technology developed by DRDO, India's defense research agency. This will allow the submarines to stay underwater for longer periods without making noise. These submarines will also be equipped with advanced sonar systems (to detect enemy ships) and long-range cruise missiles. India already has powerful cruise missile technology—BrahMos is one of the best examples. It is extremely fast and accurate, and most air defense systems in the world would struggle to stop it. How strong is India's Project-76 compared to China's submarines? If we compare India's upcoming Project-76 submarines with China's Type-039A Yuan-class, which is one of their most advanced diesel submarines, India's design appears stronger in many ways. Both countries are building diesel-electric submarines with Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP) technology, which helps submarines stay underwater longer without needing to surface. But there's a big difference: India's submarine will have complete stealth capability, making it very hard to detect. China's Yuan-class submarine only has limited stealth features, so it's easier to track. In terms of weapons, India's submarine can launch land-attack cruise missiles as well as torpedoes, giving it a strong edge. Chinese submarines, on the other hand, can only fire anti-ship missiles and torpedoes, they can't target land with cruise missiles. India's Project-76 submarines will also have better endurance. They will be able to stay underwater for nearly 3 weeks at a time, while the Chinese Yuan-class submarines can stay submerged for only about 2 weeks. In short, Project-76 submarines are being built with more advanced technology, better stealth, and stronger strike capability than China's current top diesel submarines.
The Diplomat
14-07-2025
- Business
- The Diplomat
Nudging Indigenization: Competition in India's AIP Submarine Program
Project-76 (P-76) is aimed at developing six indigenous air independent propulsion (AIP) fitted conventional submarines (SSKs), an endeavor that represents India's naval technological leapfrogging. Reflecting motivated competition within the Narendra Modi administration's Atmanirbhar Bharat ('Self-Reliant India') mission, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) on March 18 revealed that the company's in-house team is crafting a design to compete with the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) proposal for P-76. With its decades-long submarine building know-how, MDL is in talks with the Indian Navy (IN) to ensure that its design is in sync with IN's requirements. The design phase, intended to be completed by 2028, would be ready around the same time as DRDO's, meaning that both designs will compete for the contract. While DRDO awaits Cabinet Committee on Security approval for its proposal, this 'double-barreled approach' could prove a boon for the IN. The IN would have two options from which to select the best fit. This presents the IN with an alternative if one of the projects faces delays, which remains a constant feature in India's naval procurement. More importantly, competition between the two Ministry of Defense administered entities for P-76 could work as a driver of innovation, eventually resulting in the growth of India's submarine industrial base, while aligning with Delhi's objective on self-reliance in defense. This case reflects the significance of competition between defense contractors. For example, in the U.S., major American defense corporations such as Newport News Shipbuilding Co. and General Dynamics have been known to contend for similar U.S. Navy submarine contracts, a dynamic that eventually led to the construction of technically advanced and cost-effective platforms, including the Los Angeles- and Virginia-class submarines. Naturally, the U.S. Congress and successive presidential administrations have long viewed the existence of economic competition within the defense industry as an important policy priority. India's Ministry of Defense and the IN could benefit from competition-induced innovation and cost-related silver linings. Another factor that reflects MDL's involvement in P-76 and comes at an opportune moment is attributed to the Defense Ministry's approval of the joint bid of MDL and Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) to construct six SSKs under Project-75 India (P-75I). With commercial negotiations left before the contract is formalized, P-75I and P-76 are likely to progress almost in parallel. If the P-76 materializes as planned, and commercial talks for P-75I do not witness significant differences over cost, it could benefit MDL's indigenous design and development for P-76 by transfer of technology through P-75I. The Ministry of Defense's strategic logic at the inception of the submarine development program in 1999 was that India would conceive an indigenous SSK design by integrating both the design philosophies of P-75 and its technologically advanced successor P-75I. While the latter is yet to start, the logic not only remains but has been reinforced with the advent of advanced technologies like AIP, lithium-ion batteries, vertical launch and electronic warfare systems. Naturally, the IN's core objective now is to integrate the latest technologies of P-75I with indigenous SSK construction, which makes the MDL an ideal player for P-76. The first submarine to be constructed under the P-75I will have at least 45 percent indigenous content, which would progressively be increased to 60 percent by the sixth platform. Moreover, the argument that MDL's involvement (in addition to DRDO) will stretch available resources remains superficial. MDL has not planned any project-specific additional funding from the Ministry of Defense and is reliant on its existing budgetary support. The company's portfolio and facilities for submarine construction, besides the workforce, exemplify MDL as the most viable industrial option. First, MDL has been involved in building submarines since 1984. It possesses a distinctive legacy as the only yard to build (in foreign collaboration) two different types of submarines – the Shishumar class and Kalvari class. The collaboration between MDL and its German partner Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) in the 1980s to build six Shishumar-class submarines, wherein four submarines were constructed in MDL's yard, laid the foundation of India's indigenous submarine construction journey. Notwithstanding the corruption allegations by HDW, the partnership was a major milestone as it provided MDL with the required exposure to the technical aspects of submarine construction. Today, with the P-75I, MLD-TKMS collaboration represents a more substantive joint venture. All six submarines would be constructed indigenously, with India gaining full transfer of technology of the hull design and AIP technology. This collaboration would not only boost MDL's technical and industrial capabilities for developing SSKs but also supplement IN's standing as a 'builder's navy.' Second, MDL's status as a submarine construction hub is undergirded by its specialized facilities. MDL houses several specialized workshops, including for series construction and sub-section assembly, besides a weapon integration facility for submarine construction. It is also in the process of setting up a state-of-the-art design and engineering center for the design of submarines, which would be indispensable for the indigenous design of SSKs going forward. With its augmented infrastructure, the construction capacity of MDL has increased from 6 to 11 submarines with parallel construction lines. The submarine assembly workshop, in addition to the various infrastructure facilities created under the Mazdock Modernization Project, makes MDL a reliable partner for meeting the IN's long-term needs of submarine construction. Third, lessons have been learned from the suspension of the Shishumar program, resulting in the loss of knowledge and skills. In recent years, MDL has made conscious efforts toward effective utilization and retention of the indispensable hard-acquired submarine construction skills of the workforce. To preserve the capabilities gained during the construction of the Kalvari-class submarine, MDL has gainfully employed the workforce on similar jobs to the extent feasible. That factor also underpins MDL's involvement in P-76. The writing was on the wall for MDL to enter the fray of P-76. For a project that aims for 90 to 95 percent indigenous content, the competition generated by MDL's entry is welcome news for the growth of India's indigenous defense industry, and a much-needed impetus to the laggard procurement.
