[Answered] What is India’s Project 75-I? Discuss the significance of the project and also highlight the challenges it is facing in building submarines domestically.

Project 75-I, approved in 2007 is part of the Indian Navy’s 30-year Plan for indigenous submarine construction. Project 75-I envisages indigenous construction of 6 modern conventional (non-nuclear or diesel-electric) submarines with contemporary equipment, weapons & sensors including Fuel-Cell based AIP (Air Independent Propulsion), advanced torpedoes and modern missiles. It is also the first programme to be progressed under the Strategic Partnership concept which offers a level-playing field to the private sector.

Significance:

• This would provide a major boost to the indigenous design and construction capability of submarines in India as well as bring in the latest submarine design and technologies.
• The project would not only aid in boosting the core submarine industry but would also enhance industrial sector, especially the MSME by development of an industrial eco-system for manufacture of associated equipment related to submarines.
• This will be an important step towards meeting broader national objectives and aligning the defence sector with the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the Government.

There are the following challenges in building submarines domestically under Project-75I:

• Poor R&D investment: Naval technologies are complex and involve significant R&D investment for developing submarines. But in India, only L&T has made a significant investment.
• Previous delays: The last two submarines developed under the Project 75 Kalvari-class were supposed to be fitted with an AIP system. But the slow development of the system by the DRDO caused a significant delay in the Indian Navy’s submarine plans.
• Lack of essentials: We are also lacking in essentials capacities such as advanced towed array sonars (ATAS) to detect enemy submarines, heavyweight torpedoes to neutralize them and varied air defense systems. These are critical not only to survivability of submarines, but also their overall offensive capability.
• The indigenous Fuel-Cell based AIP being made by DRDO is a land-based prototype. DRDO has not developed a marinized AIP system that can be deployed on submarines to function under underwater situations.

A practical way forward is that strategic partners and DRDO should seek a foreign collaborator for P-75I, who will install the indigenous AIP on the selected submarine and conduct collaborative trials. Once proven at sea, the indigenous AIP could be installed in all new submarines and retrofitted in the old ones.