Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) announced that its commercial bid to construct six conventional submarines, valued at ?70,000 crore, has been approved by the Ministry of Defence. The submarines will be built in partnership with Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS). The decision follows a competitive bidding process in which Indian firm Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Spanish company Navantia were disqualified due to their inability to meet the technical requirements for a proven air-independent propulsion (AIP) system. MDL confirmed that the commercial bid has been opened by the Ministry for further processing.
The contract stipulates that the first submarine must be delivered to the Indian Navy within seven years of signing the agreement. The deal is part of a Request for Proposal (RFP) issued by the defence ministry in July 2021, which was extended until August 2023. Under the agreement, the foreign submarine manufacturer must partner with an Indian firm to build the submarines domestically and transfer critical fuel-cell-based AIP technology. This requirement proved challenging for most foreign companies, except those from Germany and South Korea, who met the criteria.
India and Germany have maintained a strategic partnership since 2000, further strengthened through inter-governmental consultations since 2011. MDL recently delivered the sixth and final Scorpene-class submarine, INS Vagsheer, under the Kalvari-class Project P-75. Additionally, commercial negotiations are ongoing for three more Scorpene-class submarines under the same project, reflecting India’s continued focus on strengthening its naval capabilities.
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