Germany And India Sign Deal For Six Submarines

Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) of Germany and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) of India signed an agreement today to work together to make six stealth subs.

The goal of the MoU is to use the latest technology from Germany and the making skills of the MDL to make six conventional submarines for the Indian Navy’s Project-75 (India).

The Ministry of Defense (MoD) owns the MDL, which is a public company with its main office in Mumbai. The TKMS is the world market leader for non-nuclear submarines that use air independent propulsion (AIP) technology, which helps a submarine stay underwater for longer periods of time. India wanted to make AIP technology work, which would let a submarine stay underwater for up to six days.

The MoU was signed at Mumbai in front of Boris Pistorius, the German Minister of Defense. According to the agreement, the TKMS will help with the engineering and construction of the submarines and also offer consulting services for this joint project. The MDL will be in charge of making the subs and getting them to their destinations.

The submarines will be made in India, and it is believed that there will be a lot of work done there. The MoD asked the MDL to bid on making the subs a few months ago.

Oliver Burkhard, CEO of TKMS, said, “We look back on a trusting ten-year partnership with India and would be happy to continue contributing to India’s national security.”

India bought four submarines from the German company Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) at the end of the 1980s. Two were made at the MDL in 1992 and 1994, and the other two were made in Germany. Since then, the TKMS has taken over the HDW.

As of now, India has 16 regular submarines and one nuclear submarine. This is a long way from the plan that was made in 1999, which said that India would have 24 regular submarines by 2030.