During a visit by Minister Pistorius to Mumbai, Germany and India signed a declaration of intent for a multi-billion dollar submarine project. New Delhi is looking for a partner for the production of six submarines.
During a visit by Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, German and Indian shipbuilders signed a declaration of intent for a multi-billion dollar submarine project. With this, representatives of ThyssenKrupp Marinesystems (TKMS) and the Indian shipyard Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders in Mumbai laid the foundation for a total of up to six submarines to be delivered.
“We sent a very important signal today,” said Pistorius. This is “a milestone” for a “lighthouse project in a key technology”. During his visit to the Indian port metropolis, the Minister of Defense visited facilities of the Indian armed forces and the shipyard.
The government in New Delhi is looking for a cooperation partner for the local production of six submarines in India, but has not yet decided. According to reports, bidders from Spain and South Korea are still in the running. An amount of more than five billion euros was recently mentioned as a possible volume of such a transaction.
Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders is the only company in India that builds submarines and destroyers. The Indian company has 1500 employees. In the event of an order, TKMS would be responsible for the construction and design of the submarines and for consulting activities, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders for construction and delivery, as the German company announced. The new submarines would be built in India “and thus make a significant contribution to local value creation”.
The project has been under negotiation for several years, but it could now become the first major step in deeper military cooperation between Germany and India. The day before, after talks in New Delhi, Pistorius had called for India to be treated as a strategic partner along the lines of Australia and Japan, thereby significantly facilitating armaments cooperation.