Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 22

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today said India must rethink its submarine building plan and look for greater numbers than the existing plan of making 24 submarines by 2030.Referring to the existing 30-year submarine building plan approved in 1999 that envisages construction of 24 submarines, including both nuclear and conventional, Parrikar said India needed a longer plan till 2050 with more numbers.The existing plan ends in 2030 and the first submarine under it — the Kalvari — will be commissioned in January 2017. To maintain and sustain the knowledge in submarine making, India needed a longer plan, Parrikar told the media on the sidelines of a seminar here today.He was addressing a seminar “Current and future challenges in design and construction of underwater vehicles” organised by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.At present, India has 14 submarines: nine Kilo-class (EKMs), four German-designed HDWs (SSKs) and one Akula class nuclear-powered submarine (SSN) on a 10-year lease from Russia (since 2012).In comparison, China is building up submarines with speed. The US Department of Defence, in its annual report to the US Congress, spells out the rise of China’s submarine fleet. A US report, “Military and security developments involving the People’s Republic of China 2016”, says, “The People’s Liberation Army Navy places a high priority on the modernisation of its submarine force and presently possesses 61 vessels. By 2020, this force will likely grow to between 69 and 78 submarines.”Parrikar said other countries like the UK, Russia and the US had built hundreds of submarines. On the coming next line of submarines—“Project 75-India”— he said it would start once the strategic partnership model was approved.Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba said the submarine design is an area that challenged indigenous development. Indian yards will need technology transfer to ensure that the Navy gets its submarine development plan.