The German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius will be arriving in India for a two-day visit on 6th June, 2023.
The visit is considered significant, particularly keeping in mind that Germany is likely to present a detailed proposal to India for the sale of six new generation advanced conventional submarines through the Government-to-Government (G2G) route under Project-75I.
However, as of now there is no official confirmation for the same.
Notable, Germany operates HDW Class Dolphin submarines which is equipped with Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system, and is most likely to offer the same to India.
Earlier in July 2017, the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) had issued a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) for Project 75 (India)-class submarines, or P-75I worth Rs 45,000 Crore (US $5.4 billion) under the “Strategic Partnership” model.
The program involves acquisition of six conventional, diesel-electric attack submarines for the Indian Navy, which will also feature advanced capabilities – including Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP), ISR, Special Operations Forces (SOF), Anti-Ship Warfare (AShW), Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW), land-attack capabilities and other features.
All six submarines are expected to be constructed in India, under the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
