In the run-up to the Balakot strikes against Pakistan in 2019, the Indian Navy pulled out its assets from an exercise and deployed its leased Russian nuclear-powered submarine INS Chakra and other conventional submarines close to Pakistan’s territorial waters. The Pakistan Navy was caught off guard as it had only one operational conventional submarine.
Pakistan’s only operational submarine was the Agosta-class PNS Saad, which disappeared from Pakistani waters. The Saad is fitted with Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP), which allows it to remain submerged for a longer period than non-AIP submarines.
If not detected, PNS Saad could reach India’s Gujarat coast in three days and the headquarters of its western fleet in Mumbai within five days.
Sensing a major threat, the Indian Navy’s anti-submarine warfare specialist warships and P-8I aircraft began a 21-day hunt for the Pakistani submarine. The submarine was later found in the West of Pakistan.
The incident drove home the point that Pakistan required a larger operational fleet of submarines and the advantage that AIP offers the country.
At the time, Pakistan had five French-made submarines, three of which belonged to the Augusta 90B class or Khalid class. The remaining two were nearly 40 years old and belonged to the Augusta 70 or Hashmat class.
Pakistan sent an SOS to its all-weather ally to help build its maritime assets and requested Germany access its AIP system. Only the Germans successfully operationalized a fuel cell AIP system onboard their submarines, which Israel, Germany, and Turkey also use. The South Korean AIP system was also developed from the German one.
AIP-powered conventional diesel-electric submarines (SSK) are midway between nuclear-powered boats and non-AIP SSKs. It allows an SSK to remain submerged for 10 to 14 days without needing to surface to charge its batteries, which might get it detected.
Other SSKs can stay underwater for roughly 48 hours. The fuel-cell-based AIP is unique, as it generates its hydrogen requirement on board.
In August 2020, the German Federal Security Council, headed by then-Chancellor Angela Merkel, turned down Pakistan’s request for AIP technology. Pakistan wanted to integrate German AIP technology to upgrade its inventory of submarines and the Hangor Class submarines (an export variant of Type 039B Yuan class submarines) manufactured under a joint China-Pakistan project.
This wasn’t the only spanner Germany threw into the Pakistan Navy’s modernization plan.
Earlier, the S-26 submarines were powered by the German MTU 12V 396 SE84 diesel engine, but the German government reportedly withheld export licenses for the powerplant. Later, the Pakistan Navy decided to go with the Chinese CHD-620 diesel engine, delaying the program.
Pakistan watchers in India had attributed Germany’s hard stance against Pakistan to Islamabad’s role in fomenting terrorism in the region. Germany was particularly affronted as Pakistan failed to help in identifying the perpetrators of the truck bomb attack on the German Embassy in Kabul in May 2017.
This delay has helped India catch up with the Pakistan Navy’s AIP-equipped submarine fleet. The current number of AIP submarines is three, and when the Hangor Class submarines are inducted into the Pakistan Navy, the number is expected to increase to 11.
The Indian Navy has no AIP submarine and has selected the German Thyssenkrupp’s bid to manufacture six AIP submarines under Make in India.
The German Tide Turned To Favor India
The Indian Ministry of Defense appears to have selected the joint venture between German ThyssenKrupp (TkMS) and Indian Mazagon Dockyard Ltd (MDL) to manufacture six AIP-equipped submarines in India.
In 2021, when the Indian Navy floated the tender, the German shipbuilder showed no interest in jointly manufacturing submarines with India.
However, the Russian-Ukraine war made Germany come out of the shadows of World War II and assume a more assertive role in leading the defenses against Russia and, hitherto, China, which adopted a more hostile attitude in the Indo-Pacific region.
ThyssenKrupp will bid jointly with MDL for the US$5.2 billion project for the Indian Navy. The cost could rise to US $8 billion. This will allow a German submarine to join the Indian Navy’s fleet after 44 years.
India purchased four Type 1500 conventional submarines from West Germany’s HDW in 1981. HDW is the parent company of ThyssenKrupp. The aim was to acquire submarine-building know-how. But, the Submarine Design Group of the Indian Navy could not absorb the capability to design or develop a submarine.
The HDW submarines were accompanied by a detailed plan to build the fifth and sixth submarines indigenously. The plan fizzled out as the company got blacklisted in India in 1987 on suspicion of bribery charges.
Two of these HDW submarines (Type 209 or Shishumar class) were built in India by the MDL, the same shipyard that will be building the submarines under Project-75I. The Shishumar Class submarines have undergone mid-life refit.
The German firm has been working with MDL since the 1980s. The first two boats in the 209 class were built in Germany, and the remaining two were constructed at the MDL shipyard in India. The submarines have never been to Germany for repair or refurbishment; this has been done entirely by MDL.
For a long time, India has been trying to get this critical technology from Germany, France, and Russia. In 2005, India inked a deal with the Franco-Spanish consortium Armaris to build six Scorpene conventional submarines.
The fifth Scorpene-class submarine was commissioned in the Indian Navy in January 2023. The subs do not have AIPs, but plans are underway to retrofit them with domestically developed AIP technology.
The 214-Class Submarines
The German shipbuilder has offered its 214-class submarines. These combine the advanced technological aspects of 212 CD submarines with the latest developments in AIP technology. The 212 CD class submarines are built exclusively for the Norwegian Navy and are tailored to their operating requirements in the Baltic Sea.
The 214 offered to India will be tailored to the Indian Navy’s requirements. It will be equipped with a Lithium-ion battery, have an advanced sensor and combat system, and not compromise on stealth features.
The combination of a fuel-cell-based AIP system and Lithium-Ion battery will provide the Indian Navy with a game-changing capability. The Navy’s area of responsibility extends from the Gulf of Aden in the West to the Strait of Malacca in the East. Given China’s growing maritime capability, the Indian Navy requires a credible submarine force.
The Fuel-cell AIP gives the submarine long-range endurance at low speed, whereas the Lithium-ion battery allows it to cruise at high speed to reach its desired destination. European countries do not use the latter, but Japan has been using it. The TkMS will integrate the two technologies for the Indian Navy.
Dr. Christian Frühling, the tkMS Program Head for Project-75I, told the EurAsian Times during an exclusive interview at its Shipyard in Kiel: “The submarines can remain submerged longer and can also have high-speed performance. The combination makes sense.”
In simpler words, the technology will help the Indian Navy the range to cover the entire Bay of Bengal while remaining submerged. A submarine is the most vulnerable when it is at periscope depth for snorting to take onboard oxygen to drive its electric batteries. The AIP technology means that it will have to surface less.
Also, the hydrogen-powered fuel cell-based AIP technology in the new 212 and 214 class submarines gives them the capability to remain submerged for three weeks at a time.
The 212 or 214 class of submarines can operate silently without emitting exhaust heat, increasing their stealth. Fuel cells offer the lowest noise levels because an electrochemical reaction produces almost no sound.
It can launch torpedoes stealthily with a water ram expulsion system. It also comes with countermeasures against torpedoes like underwater effector jammers and has minimized acoustic, thermal, and magnetic signatures to provide more stealth.
AIP-enabled submarines have increased mobility. They can “bottom” or sit on the ocean floor with only critical systems running to preserve energy and extend operational time. They use passive sonar to detect targets. Since fuel cells operate more efficiently at lower loads, bottoming could extend the endurance of a particular mission.
As the EurAsian Times understands, efficient energy systems onboard have been one of the requirements of the Indian Navy.
