Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (tkMS) has asked for sovereign-level protection from the Indian government as negotiations on the ₹70,000 crore Project-75I submarine program progress.

The company is seeking a government-to-government arrangement as a safeguard against potential liabilities and controversies, recalling the 1981 HDW submarine scandal which derailed earlier Indo-German submarine cooperation. tkMS, which absorbed HDW, is wary of the project’s multi-decade span and wants assurances that any legal or financial fallout will be managed at the state level rather than by the shipbuilder alone.

Under Project-75I, six advanced diesel-electric submarines equipped with Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) systems will be built at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL), with tkMS supplying design, technology and technical support.

Deliveries are expected to begin seven years after contract signing, with one submarine rolling out annually thereafter. The submarines will be based on an improved Class-214 platform, incorporating stealth and endurance enhancements suited to the Indian Navy’s blue-water operational needs.

The Contract Negotiation Committee (CNC) is expected to deliberate on how to balance risk-sharing with cost control across the programme’s long lifecycle. Commercial and technical protections will be especially critical given the massive scale of the project, India’s largest-ever naval defence initiative under Make-in-India.

The Navy is pushing for deeper technology transfer than the initially proposed 45% local content, aiming for at least 60% in the final units. More importantly, service planners are demanding access to fundamental submarine design capabilities that would allow India to eventually build and upgrade conventional submarines independently.

MDL and tkMS will first sign a parallel manufacturing agreement to formalise roles, with MDL leading construction and tkMS providing technical expertise. This agreement is expected to frame the contours of liability-sharing and compliance before the main defence contract is finalised with the Ministry of Defence. tkMS, recognising the sensitivities in India’s procurement system post-HDW scandal, is seeking an intergovernmental guarantee rather than leaving protection at the private-contractual level.

The program is poised to have broader industrial and strategic impact. Indigenous manufacture of specialised pressure hull steel will create new capacities within India’s heavy engineering base. 

Parallelly, tkMS has begun deepening its Indian industrial linkages, signing agreements with VEM Technologies for heavyweight torpedo development and CFF Fluid Control Ltd for weapons and mechanical systems. These tie-ups align with India’s vision of diversifying its submarine sustainment and supply chain ecosystem.

If successfully concluded, Project-75I will become India’s largest indigenous naval manufacturing effort, worth a record-breaking ₹70,000 crore. It will augment the Navy’s underwater capabilities significantly while embedding India more firmly in the global submarine value chain.

Strategically, it marks a step toward true maritime autonomy by balancing German know-how with Indian production strength, creating both operational muscle for the fleet and long-term design capability for the indigenous ecosystem.

Based On The Hindu BL Report