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| The 1st Kalveri (DCNS Scorpene) class Submarine prior to launch |
By: Vivek Raghuvanshi
NEW DELHI — In a reversal, the Indian Navy has dropped plans to mount homegrown air-independent propulsion (AIP) technology on the last two of its six Scorpene submarines under construction, putting into question the development status of the technology.
Work on the AIP tech, under development by state-owned Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), has held back the floating of the Navy's $12 billion tender for Project 75(I), under which six conventional submarines with AIP technology are to be acquired, according to an Indian Navy official. "With doubts now cleared that the AIP technology is not ready, the chances of the tender being floated early are bright," the official said.
"The decision not to install a homegrown AIP system on the Scorpene submarines appears to be a sound one," said Arun Prakash, a former service chief and retired Navy admiral. "This is an arcane technology, which took France and Germany many years to develop and prove, in terms of efficiency as well as safety. Given state-owned Defence Research and Development Organization propensity for exaggeration and hyperbole, they should first prove the system on land-based test beds, then by retrofitting on an old submarine and only then on a new-build boat."
The last two Scorpene submarines, known locally as Kalveri-class subs, are slotted for induction in 2020 and 2022. A second Navy official said that while Indian defense scientists claim the AIP tech will be ready by 2020, the "Indian Navy is not confident for its integration on the last two Scorpene submarines."
According to a DRDO scientist, the organization is to conduct the first-ever trails of land-based AIP technology in December.
Read the full story at DefenseNews