News Story: India's HSL May Seek Foreign Help To Build Midget Subs

By: Vivek Raghuvanshi

NEW DELHI — India's state-owned shipyard is to float a global tender in the next two months seeking consultancy to help build two midget submarines for the Indian Navy, according to a source in the Ministry of Defence (MoD). 

Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) was nominated this month to be awarded the $400 million deal to build two midgets, and the tender will be formally awarded in the next one month, the MoD source added. 

For the Navy's Marine Commando Force, the midgets will transport armament and equipment from the mother craft to attack targets such as ships riding at anchor and coastal installations, according to a Navy official. The subs will also carry out covert surveillance attacks in shallow waters, the official added. 

However, domestic shipyards are unhappy over the MoD's decision to award the tender to HSL without competition. 

An executive with the privately owned shipyard Larsen &Toubro (L&T) questioned the ministry's move to nominate HSL, "which has no technical know-how or skill to build midgets." 

"Now HSL will hunt overseas for technical consultancy to build the midgets. This is not in the spirit of Make in India policy," the L&T executive said. "L&T has already made known its displeasure [about the tender nomination] to MoD through industry associations." 

The executive said the midget program should have been put to competition. "HSL lacked orders and was given the midgets order (in 2012). However, since then HSL has got huge orders for fleet support ship as well as has a promise for two landing platform decks (dock)," the executive said. 

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It has been a big month on the water for Lockheed Martin. Better known for building aircraft, the company delivered its eighth Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), the LCS Detroit, to the US Navy earlier in August. The vessel is a part of the Freedom class, which is the company’s share of the US Navy’s Future Frigate program. While the LCS program has faced its share of issues, both variants of the LCS have progressed well and are currently undergoing shock tests. This comes on the heels of Lockheed Martin’s new US$166 million contract to build mini-submarines for US Special Operations Command. These mini-subs are designed to allow up to six Navy SEALs to infiltrate hostile coastal regions undetected.

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