The Indian Navy will issue a global tender for the purchase of six next-generation submarines worth Rs500bn ($11bn) by end 2011, Indian Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma has said.
“The government has cleared Project-75 India, which is the next lot of six submarines. At the moment we are going with the request for information (RFI) process, I hope within this year we would be able to push off the tender,” he added.
“It will be a different boat in the sense that we are revising its qualitative requirements. Along with better sensors it will also have better hiding capability, and an improved detection range and combat management system.”
The future submarines will be equipped with air independent propulsion (AIP) systems for enhanced endurance capabilities as well as indigenous torpedoes and missiles deployed on the Scorpene submarines.
Project-75 India is a follow on of the Scorpene submarine project, under which six submarines are being built in India in an Rs200bn ($4.3bn) deal with French DCNS.
The Indian Navy is planning to induct over 12 submarines in the next ten to 12 years to strengthen its depleted submarine fleet.
