India to acquire six subs in biggest military purchase

The Indian government is set to strengthen its navy with six advanced submarines by approving the country's biggest-ever military purchase, The Times of India reported Sunday.

The Defence Acquisitions Council has decided that three of the six submarines will be constructed at Mazagon Docks in Mumbai and one at Hindustan Shipyard in Visakhapatnam, with the help of a foreign collaborator, the newspaper reported.

"The other two submarines will either be imported from the foreign vendor directly or constructed at a private shipyard in India. Fresh estimates show each of these six diesel-electric submarines will cost almost 85 billion Indian rupees ($1.82 billion)," the paper quoted a source as saying.

The most significant feature of the six submarines will be the air-independent propul-sion system that enables them to submerge for much longer than conventional ones.

Manufacturers, such as Russia's Rosoboronexport, France's DCNS/Armaris, Germany's HDW and Spain's Navantia, were mentioned by the paper, which said that the purchas-ing process is underway but no contract has been inked.

The report came just days after Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari visited China for a possible deal in civil nuclear energy. Indian media also speculated that Zardari and Chinese officials were in talks regarding a railway linking Beijing and Islamabad.

Li Jie, a researcher at the Chinese Naval Research Institute of the PLA Navy, told the Global Times that India's submarine deal would affect the military balance in Asia.

"Submarines have always been the Indian navy's weakness," Li said. "Its current 15-strong fleet consists of mostly aging Russian and German submarines, none of which are nuclear powered. Those new submarines, along with India's aircraft carrier fleet, will boost the country's presence in the Indian Ocean and change the military climate in Asia."

Global Times