Project 75I

• Spanish submarine manufacturer Navantia and India’s Larsen and Toubro (L&T) on recently concluded a Teaming Agreement, to jointly bid for the Project 75I.

ABOUT PROJECT-75I

• Project-75I envisages construction of six advanced submarines in India with significant indigenous content and is estimated to cost over ₹45,000 crore.
• The P-75I is the first project being executed under the Strategic Partnership model of Defence Acquisition Procedure and the Request For Proposal (RFP) was originally issued in July 2021.
• The first submarine must have a minimum of 45% indigenisation, with the indigenous content going up to 60% in the sixth.
• Project 75I requires an Indian bidder to tie up with a foreign collaborator and build six conventional submarines equipped with AIP systems.

AIR-INDEPENDENT PROPULSION (AIP) SYSTEM

• AIP is mostly implemented as an auxiliary source, with the traditional diesel engine handling surface propulsion.
• Most of these systems generate electricity, which in turn drives an electric motor for propulsion or recharges the boat’s batteries.
• An AIP module acts as a force multiplier as it enables conventional submarines to remain submerged for longer duration thereby increasing their endurance and reducing chances of detection.
• It decreases the noise levels made by the submarines. This makes it hard to detect the submarines.
• An indigenously developed AIP module is set to be installed on the Scorpene submarines as they go for refit from 2024 onwards.