Whither India?

The Indian Navy does not have an AIP fitted submarine in its inventory as yet. however, surprisingly even the first four submarines of the under construction project 75 (the French Scorpene class) will not be fitted with an aIp despite a proven system (MesMa) being available for this class of submarine. The option for aIp is planned only for the last two submarines which means, that the Indian navy will not have an aIp submarine in its inventory until 2021-22. The first four submarines will probably be retrofitted with an aIp at a later date.

an option, if feasible, could be to retrofit a modular AIP system on the existing submarines if they undergo a service life extension programme, though given the pace of decision making in the Ministry of defence, this seems very unlikely.

The long awaited rFp for the project 75(I) submarines is expected to include an aIp capability though the desired technology may not be specified to avoid a single ven- dor situation. This could further stymie the project which is already running well behind schedule and with the existing prevarication on its progress is expected to slip further.

The Indian navyÕs claim to be one of the leading submarine operating navies in the world is seriously under question with this debilitating deficiency in its undersea warfare capability and severely limits the ability of its submarines to shape the littoral battle space. The availability of an aIp on the three Agosta 90Bs on the other hand gives our western neighbour a major tactical advantage in its sea denial capability in a regional or bilateral conflict scenario.

It is understood that the defence research and development organisation is developing a fuel cell aIp system based on the use of phosphoric acid as an electrolyte. This is a proven technology in stationary applications since the 1960s but is not in use on board submarines with any other navy. The development of an indigenous aIp is indeed a noteworthy achievement but will perhaps take sometime to mature and become available for fitment on board. It is hoped that the delay in issuing the rFp for the project 75(I) is not held up because of this. The Indian navy should certainly encourage this development and incorporate its fitment into the future indigenous ssK design which constitutes the second phase of the ccs approved 30-year submarine construction plan.

Conclusion

The advent of aIp systems has greatly improved the dived endurance of conventional submarines thus overcoming a major limitation in their scope of operations. coupled with the capability of modern submarines to deliver firepower at standÐoff ranges, it has greatly widened the choices for the operational commander to shape the littoral maritime battle space to advantage. The Indian navy would do well to incorporate this technology in its future submarine programmes including all six submarines of the project 75 at the earliest to neutralise the advantage this system has provided to its principal adversary.