The Indian Navy already has the last submarine of the six Scorpene submarines initially ordered from France as part of its P75 program in service. The country opted in 2023 to expand this fleet with another three units of the model that Spain also built in partnership with France, while it waits to make a decision on a new batch of six units of the new P75I program, which currently only the German company Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) is eligible for, with its Type 2014 model. And the Spanish Navantia, with the S-80.
The sixth ship of the P75 Kalvari class, christened INS Vaghsheer, was officially commissioned into service in the Indian Navy last Wednesday during a ceremony in the presence of Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, which was also attended by Defense Minister Shri Rajnath Singh and the Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy. Admiral Dinesh Tripathi. On behalf of the French naval firm Naval Group, as designer of the submarine, its president and CEO, Pierre Éric Pommellet, was present.
The new submarine has been built entirely by MDL, with technology transfer from Naval Group, in accordance with the ‘Make in India’ policy of the Government of the Asian country. The six submarines built from the P75 program are equipped with a series of locally built equipment “by qualified and highly trained industrialists, including micro, small and medium-sized enterprises,” the French firm explains in a statement.
The note details that MDL and Naval Group have developed a rich industrial ecosystem of more than 50 Indian companies, along with an Indian subsidiary that employs more than 70 Indian engineers to support the country’s Navy.