German Co, eyeing P75I contract, offers to make submarines in India

Recent conflicts have unlocked a significant demand for naval assets and there is an opportunity to create a global submarine and warship building hub in India that can churn out platforms at lower costs for exports, Germany's leading maritime company has said.

Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), which is bidding for a major contract to manufacture six new diesel electric submarines in India for a Navy order, said it is looking to expand its footprint and has pitched for the creation of a joint warship building hub, estimating that it can be up to 50% cheaper to make submarines and warships here.

"Together with MDL (Mazagaon Dockyards Limited, which is the partner for the submarine contract), there could be a hub for technology, which will generate more orders. This is really an opportunity to go beyond the P75I (the submarine contract), which will generate, of course, more jobs," TKMS CEO Oliver Burkhard said.


TKMS-MDL is in a fierce contest with L&T-Navantia (Spanish company) to supply new conventional submarines to the Navy. The next step towards finalising a winner - the completion of a technical oversight committee report - is expected to take place before the end of January.

TKMS is placing itself as a reliable partner for India to develop future technologies, saying it has the full support of the German government as well. "We want to foster the partnership over this project, (which) will be the entry from a strategic perspective to the (larger) attainable market. It can double and triple within 10 years," he said.

Burkhard said Europe is facing a capacity crisis as the demand for military systems has skyrocketed after the Russia-Ukraine conflict. He identified potential joint export markets in southeast Asia as well as South America. He added as production costs in Germany are high due to high engineering wages, there could be a significant cost advantage to Make in India for domestic as well as export orders. He said the Germany offer for a larger warship building hub has already been conveyed to India through multiple channels.