Just cancel P-75I and extend order to 12 with a private line getting last six. MDL experience will help establish line and training. Otherwise is definitely very time consuming if not also pricey. Then on we move to locally designed SSKs. I hope design work is already on.
I support the idea of scrapping a seperate P-75I tender...instead, we should just buy 6 to 9 more Scorpenes, but this time with either the MESMA-II or the DRDO AIP from the start. Logically, this is what is most likely to happen.
Because if we go ahead and buy a different submarine in P-75I (like U214 or Amur), we'd be the only Navy in the world to have operated 4 different types of diesel-electric SSKs in recent times. Kilo, U209, Scorpene & P-75I. It would be a logistical nightmare and a huge waste of money & time.
The Kilos and the U209s would be retired within the next ~10 years, after that our whole conventionally-powered submarine fleet would be based around the Scorpene infrastructure only. A single design.
--
However, I do not think that we should get private yards into the SSK game...companies like L&T have already fabricated the hulls of the Arihant-class SSBN and therefore have ample experience with nuclear subs. We have 2 distinct N-sub projects in the offing;
- A much larger ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), the successor to the Arihant-class. Rumored to displace approx. 20,000 tons and draws design elements from the Russian Delta-IV class of boomers. Upto 12 missile silos with MIRVed intercontinental-ranged SLBMs. A minimum of 3 and maximum of 5 boats required.
- A hunter-killer SSN of approx. 5,000 tons displacement. Could be based off either DCNS Barracuda or a Russian design with French electronics/systems thrown in. The first tranche would consist of 6 boats...but as we'll need these in numbers in order to escort & protect the 3 + 3 SSBNs, a minimum 3 CBGs and ofcourse for patrolling all across the Indian Ocean Region...the numbers will easily double to atleast 12 or 16 boats eventually.
The private cos. should be exclusively employed in order to form additional production lines for the nuclear subs, in addition to the one in Vizag which is churning out the Arihant-class boats as we speak. Why?
Because in the future, the number of Nuclear-powered submarines in the IN will easily outnumber the diesel-electric ones. The N-subs are the big fish which need the maximum investment, the maximum industrial capabilities and should thus be the ones getting the maximum private-sector participation.
The reason why additional Scorpenes should be sought is because we should not lose the industrial expertise and know-how that MDL & it's workforce has learnt while building the current 6 boats - which would be the case if we stop Scorpene production at 6 units and start building a different submarine-class instead, especially when we still have a requirement for atleast 6-9 more SSKs.
In my opinion, a parallel production line for components etc. should be set up within MDL - which would allow for the delivery of the follow-on orders at a much quicker rate. But MDL alone should be employed with SSKs.