14/09/2026
expanding India's underwater fleet is an absolute strategic priority. The multi-billion-dollar Project-75I (P-75I), valued at over âš90,000 crore (~$10 billion), is nearing final selection with Germanyâs ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) partnering with India's Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL). While a project of this scale sparks critical debate on cost versus alternative assets, the investment is vital for Indiaâs long-term maritime strategy due to several pressing realities:Why It Is the Right PriorityThe Two-Front Undersea Threat: The Indian Ocean Region (IOR) is seeing rapid militarization. Chinaâs People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) frequently deploys attack submarines to the region. Simultaneously, Pakistan is actively expanding its fleet with eight advanced Type-039B conventional submarines from China. P-75I directly counters this dual challenge. Critical Capabilities & True Stealth: The six Type-214 submarines will feature advanced Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) technology. Conventional submarines must normally surface or snorkel every few days to recharge batteries, making them highly vulnerable to radar and satellite detection. AIP allows these vessels to remain submerged silently for up to three weeks, turning them into highly effective "sea-denial" tools. An Aging Fleet: The Indian Navy operates a shrinking underwater arm. Many older Kilo-class and HDW submarines are nearing the end of their operational service lives. While the six newer Kalvari-class (Scorpène) submarines provided a temporary boost, they are not enough to offset impending retirements. True Technology Transfer: Unlike previous assembly contracts, P-75I mandates a strict 45% to 60% indigenization rate across the build. The included âŦ450 million (~âš5,000 crore) technology transfer package is designed to give MDL the foundational capability to design and construct its own next-generation submarines entirely from scratch in the future. The Counter-Arguments & Strategic Trade-offsCritics and military economists argue that committing âš90,000 crore to six conventional hulls creates steep opportunity costs within a limited defense budget: The Nuclear Attack Submarine (SSN) Alternative: A faction within the strategic community argues that India should prioritize nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) rather than conventional ones. SSNs possess unlimited endurance and higher transit speeds, making them far better suited for hunting hostile assets across the vast expanses of the deep Indo-Pacific.The Multi-Domain Balance: Spending vast sums on heavy hulls draws funding away from asymmetric modern warfare assets. The Navy faces an urgent need to build up its inventory of long-range unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), autonomous aerial surveillance drones, smart sea mines, and networked ship-borne weapon systems. The Strategic VerdictConventional AIP submarines and nuclear SSNs serve two entirely different roles. While SSNs are designed for blue-water power projection, conventional AIP submarines are unmatched for silent ambush operations in littoral waters and choke points (like the Malacca Strait).
