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Indian Navy Scales Back Plans to Procure Nuclear Submarines
Picture Credits: PTIAccording to recent reports, the Indian Navy has scaled back its plans to procure nuclear submarines, with approval currently pending for the purchase of only three submarines during the initial stage of the project. The original plan, which involved the procurement of six submarines as part of Project-77, was scrapped due to the high procurement costs.
The defence ministry had given approval to the Indian Navy’s plans to acquire nuclear submarines in 2016, with the decision made in 2019 to develop only three submarines as part of the modernisation of the Navy. However, the project hit a roadblock due to a lack of funding, with the initial investment of ₹100 crores being the only funds received to date.
In the meantime, France has offered India a significant nuclear submarine deal, which includes becoming a part of the Indian Navy’s program to develop six nuclear submarines and offering to share conventional technology from its Barracuda-class nuclear submarine program. Work is also underway at the Indian Navy’s Shipbuilding Centre in Visakhapatnam to design an indigenous nuclear submarine. However, there have been disagreements over who will fund the development of a new 190MW pressurised water reactor (PWR) by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), which will power the Indian Navy’s nuclear submarine program, including the S5 Class of ballistic missile submarines.