Delays force Navy to drop demand for foreign submarines

Frustrated with seven years of debilitating delay in even kicking off the process to select a foreign collaborator to help make new-generation stealth submarines, the Navy has junked its long-standing demand for getting two of the six such vessels directly from aboard.

Defence ministry sources said Navy has now agreed that all the six new submarines, armed with both land-attack missile capabilities and air-independent propulsion for greater underwater endurance, will be constructed in India with foreign collaboration under 'Project-75-India'.

The major decision dovetails into the Modi government's thrust on building a strong indigenous defence-industrial base with stepped-up private sector participation.

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