The Indian Navy has stepped up efforts to acquire a number of advanced diesel submarines.

The six subs are slated to be equipped with advanced air-independent propulsion (AIP) systems, granting the vessels a high degree of stealth. Indeed, conventional diesel-electric submarines are forced to surface every few days to replenish their oxygen supply and recharge depleted batteries. However, AIP systems will allow the underwater vessels to remain silently submerged for extended periods.

The new diesel submarines will reportedly be manufactured in Indian shipyards under the auspices of a Rs 30,000 crore budget.

A defence ministry source told the Economic Times  that RFIs (request for information) have already been issued to Russian, French and German firms. Two rounds of discussions were held, with a third scheduled for the end of October. 

As IT Examiner previously reported, the Indian Navy maintains a formidable underwater fleet composed of 16 Russian Kilo and German Shishumar vessels. However, New Delhi has expressed interest in purchasing a total of 30 submarines over the next few years. The latest procurement will follow a previous order of six Scorpène subs currently under construction by the French DCNS at the Mazagon Dockyards Limited (MDL) in Mumbai.

It should be noted that France has asked India to consider a joint venture for the international export of advanced subs. DCNS CEO Jean-Marie Poimbeuf told the Hindu that a number of countries pereceived submarines as "strategic defence systems".

Indeed, China is expected to have six Jin-class submarines capable of firing JL2 ballistic nuclear missiles by 2015. In addition, Beijing's nuclear attack submarine force has expanded rapidly and now boasts six T93 hunters and more than a dozen Kilo class boats. According to Jane's, the fast attack craft are capable of carrying eight anti-ship missiles - granting the Sino navy a "considerable capability."

India has also taken several signifcant steps to bolster its naval capabilites, including the acquistion of a Russian aicraft carrier and a 16,900-tonne Jalashwa transport ship. The 173-metre-long Landing Pontoon Dock (LPD), currrently the second largest Indian warship in service, is capable of transporting four landing craft, six helicopters and a battalion of 900 soldiers.

In addition, the Indian Navy recently deployed the Nagan, a low frequency towed array sonar system developed by the Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory, in conjunction with Bharat Electronics, Larsen and Toubro, Uniflex Cables and Keltron. According to NPOL Director S Ananthanarayanan, the long-range sonar was "more effective in detecting and classifying the vessels being tracked at variable depths, as noise due to turbulence of own-ship propulsion will not corrupt the signals received from the target." X

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