Saturday 02 / May / 2026
NEW DELHI : India is in the final stages of signing an $8 billion deal with Germany for six conventional submarines as it focuses on boosting its underwater capabilities with an eye on the prospect of greater presence of Chinese vessels in the Indian Ocean.
Experts say the new vessel will enhance India’s sea-based nuclear deterrence by making it possible to have round-the-clock deployment in the ocean while others undergo maintenance or are in transit.
The Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP) submarines will be the first such platforms in India’s fleet and will enhance the Indian Navy’s long-term operational and underwater stealth capabilities.
The AIP technology allows conventional submarines to remain submerged for extended durations without resurfacing to recharge batteries, making them harder to detect by enemy anti-submarine assets. In the expansive Indian Ocean, this also enhances their ability to operate far from the Indian coastline.
The project involves German shipyard TKMS collaborating with Indian state-owned Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd. to build the vessels in India.
On a visit to Germany last week, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh visited the TKMS facility in the port city of Kiel with his German counterpart. Following the visit German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told reporters that he expected the deal to be signed within the next three months. “I am very, very confident that I will be able to sign it soon,” Pistorius said.
The potential deal would mark the first transfer of German submarine production technology to a non-European country. It has to be approved by India’s Cabinet Committee on Security headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Although discussions about India acquiring the submarines have gone on for years, the decision to speed it up comes amid growing geopolitical uncertainties, say analysts.
India has a vast coastline of 7,500 kilometers and a central position in the Indian Ocean, which is a major seaborne trade corridor.
