Defence ministry to seek CCS approval to build 6 submarines under Project 75

The project, to be executed with the support of Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) under Project 75 India, is estimated at $8 billion ( ₹66,000 crore).

Published on: Jan 16, 2026, 06:36:37 IST

By Shishir Gupta, New Delhi

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With the cost negotiating committee (CNC) successfully completing its work, the defence ministry will soon approach the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) for approval to construct six air-independent propulsion (AIP) submarines at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL). The project, to be executed with the support of Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) under Project 75 India, is estimated at $8 billion ( ₹66,000 crore), with the submarines expected to be commissioned by the end of this decade.

INS Arihant test fires submarine launched ballistic missile. (File Photo) (MINT_PRINT)

HT learns that the Indian Navy expects the CCS to give the green light within the current fiscal year, following approvals from the finance department. People familiar with the matter said the CNC has negotiated the construction price of each submarine within the projected cost band.

India has decided to fast-track the project as Pakistan is set to acquire eight Yuan (Hangor)-class AIP-equipped diesel attack submarines from China between 2026 and 2028. Four Pakistani submarines are being constructed in China and the remaining four in Karachi. The Yuan-class SSKs will provide Rawalpindi with immense leverage in area and access denial to Indian naval forces in a worst-case scenario, as well as act as a sea-based deterrent to Indian warships operating in the north Arabian Sea. Pakistan claims to have eight functional submarines, but the actual numbers may be lower as the vessels are old and have not been upgraded.

During Operation Sindoor, the Indian Navy went as close as 200 nautical miles from Karachi with its submarines deployed near the Makran coast. Such was the Indian sea deterrent that major Pakistan Navy ships moved out from Karachi towards the Ormara, Pasni and Gwadar harbours. The Indian Navy stood down on May 10 after the Pakistan DGMO sued for peace early that morning.

While India has two functioning nuclear-armed, nuclear-powered submarines operating in the Indo-Pacific, the navy needs AIP-equipped submarines with submarine-launched cruise missiles to strengthen its sea-based deterrent. While diesel-electric submarines have to surface nearly every day to charge batteries, AIP vessels use fuel cell technology and can remain submerged for a longer period without compromising speed and stealth. However, once the fuel cell is depleted, the submarine operates like a diesel-electric vessel with slightly lower speeds.

India’s sea-based capabilities will get a huge boost with the acquisition of an Akula-class nuclear-powered conventionally armed submarine from Russia in 2027-2028, and the commissioning of two more SSBNs (INS Aridhaman and INS AriSudan). The Narendra Modi government has approved the construction of two SSNs for the Strategic Forces Command in 2025 and work has begun on Project 77.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shishir Gupta
Shishir Gupta is Executive Editor at Hindustan Times and one of India's top journalists covering national security, strategic affairs, foreign policy and geopolitics. Over the past three decades, he has extensively reported on India's military, diplomatic and security landscape, covering every major conflict and national security challenge, from the 1999 Kargil War and the 2020 East Ladakh standoff to Operation Sindoor in 2025. He has also covered major terror attacks, including the IC-814 hijacking, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and the 2025 Pahalgam terror strike, along with numerous Pakistan-backed terrorist incidents in the Kashmir Valley and across India. He has reported on national and state elections for more than three decades. A recognised authority on strategic affairs, Gupta has covered India's nuclear programme since the Pokhran-II (Shakti series) tests in May 1998 and has written extensively on global nuclear issues, Indian diplomacy and the country's expanding global outreach. He has also reported widely on international conflicts and terrorism, with a special focus on the Indian subcontinent. Gupta has interviewed Prime Minister Narendra Modi more than four times, including Modi's first interview with the print media after becoming Prime Minister in May 2014. His other interviews include three with the Dalai Lama, as well as conversations with Benjamin Netanyahu, Amit Shah, Yogi Adityanath, S. Jaishankar, Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal. He is the author of Indian Mujahideen: The Enemy Within (Hachette, 2011) and Himalayan Face-off: Chinese Assertion and Indian Riposte (Hachette, 2014). He was awarded the Chevening-Wolfson Joint Scholarship at Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, UK, in 1998 and participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) of the US State Department in 2006. He received the Ben Gurion Prize from Israel in 2011 and the K. Subrahmanyam Prize for Strategic Studies in 2015 from the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA). Since 2024, he has hosted Point Blank, Hindustan Times' weekly YouTube show on global geopolitics.Read More

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