The estimated `43,000-crore P75I project is already underway after several months, so far there is no firm response from foreign technology providers (both German, Korean companies) to the Request for Proposals (RFP) floated by selected Indian shipyards.
When Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) and South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) discussed the technical aspects of designing a new submarine for India with Indian shipyards, it was found that the critical parameters required by the Navy could be difficult to include.
In dealings with Indian shipyards, it has been learned that foreign companies are asking for lower technical requirements even when underwater durability is essential.
A distinguishing feature of the new submarines is the marine-proven Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system — a critical component that allows these boats to stay underwater for more than two weeks, compared to 2-3 days for current submarines.
However, foreign technology partners have learned that they have been asked to reduce both underwater range and endurance. In addition to the size of the new submarine, similar concerns have been raised about the level of stealth required by the Navy.
In addition, foreign partners have raised concerns about the technology transfer required by the competency requirements. In one case, the bidder had yet to receive approval from the government to share critical technology that had taken years to develop with a foreign partner.
As reported by ET, objections have already been raised over clauses in the draft contract, which call for unlimited performance and delivery responsibility on the foreign technology partner. It was learned that some of these clauses were revised in July after the high-level meeting held in the southern bloc. Exhausting the technical requirements, however, can be a more complicated matter.
