In 1997, New Delhi formalized an order for 6 conventionally powered submarines of the DCNS Scorpene model, which later became the Naval Group. The first submarine, INS Kalvari, which will be the name for the upcoming class, entered service in 2017, providing considerable operational value added to the Indian Navy. In 2014, Indian authorities launched a new program, again for 6 attack submarines, but this time equipped with an aerobic propulsion system, or AIP for Air Independent Propulsion. After the first request for information in 2014, then the second in 2017, 5 design offices were selected to participate in the competition : Germany’s TKMS with the Type 214, Spain’s Navantia with the S-80, South Korea’s DSME with the Dosan Aah Changho, Russia’s Rubin with the Lada class and French Naval Group with the Barracuda variation.

However, quickly, the requirements of the Indian specification, and in particular the obligations made to the AIP system must equip the ship to be operational, bringing TKMS, Navantia, Rubin and Naval Group to surrender, leaving only South Korea’s Daewoo Shilling and Maritime Service in contention. This competitive situation with a single competitor was so unsatisfactory for New Delhi, Indian authorities announced the next specification revision, thus allowing other manufacturers to join the competition, and postponed the bid submission deadline to December 2022. For now, however, there is no indication that Naval Group intends to enter the competition again, especially since there are no Barracudas currently being built, other than a nuclear powered version of the Suffren class.

But faux pas recently made for the Indian press seems to suggest that, far from giving up, Naval Group will remain active in the P75i competition, until it establishes certain proprietary technology arguments beyond the program itself. Indeed, according to the website idrw.org, Naval Group has offered India the transfer of technology around the Pump-jet for India’s nuclear attack submarine program which is currently being designed. The pump-jet (in the main illustration) is a channeled propeller that equips the Le Triomphant class nuclear ballistic missile submarines, and the new Suffren class nuclear attack submarines, which allows the ship to evolve faster without generating cavitation around the propellers, and because it is much more stealthy, including at high speed.

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