DRDO and WDB Set to Finalize Design of Project-76 Submarine with 70-80% Indigenous Content by Late 2025

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Warship Design Bureau (WDB) are collaborating on Project-76, an ambitious endeavor to design and develop a new generation of indigenous conventional submarines for the Indian Navy. This project is expected to significantly bolster India's self-reliance in underwater warfare capabilities.

By late 2025, the DRDO and WDB are anticipated to finalize the design of these 3,000-4,000-ton submarines. The project approval is expected to be granted sometime between 2028 and 2029, paving the way for construction.

The Indian Navy envisions a fleet of six submarines built under Project-76, with a remarkable 70-80% indigenous content. This emphasis on domestic production is expected to stimulate India's defence manufacturing sector and reduce reliance on foreign suppliers.

Project-76 builds upon the foundation laid by Project-75I, which aims to procure six next-generation submarines through international collaboration. This new project represents a natural progression towards greater self-sufficiency in submarine acquisition for the Indian Navy.

France has offered its pump-jet propulsion technology for the program, aiming to enhance efficiency across most of the submarine's performance range. Project-76 will also incorporate design elements from both Project-75I and Project-75 submarine design programs.

 

[desigandu]

Pumpjets, I am very iffy on. That is simply because of their power efficiency for a given input power. The rest of it is something I wholeheartedly agree with.

I agree to some extent but won't pumpjets on a 4000t SSK make it a big deal, given even by 2040, we may have only 3+ SSNs! Also, are there any SSKs with pump jets today or in planning, and if not is the technical challenge achievable or impossible (including potential weight/stealth etc considerations)...we could do it in phases - lot 1 6 subs without pumpjets and the 2nd 6 with pumpjets...we must think big and go for it as our industrial base gets better - easier said than done...

 

[Anant]

I agree to some extent but won't pumpjets on a 4000t SSK make it a big deal, given even by 2040, we may have only 3+ SSNs! Also, are there any SSKs with pump jets today or in planning, and if not is the technical challenge achievable or impossible (including potential weight/stealth etc considerations)...we could do it in phases - lot 1 6 subs without pumpjets and the 2nd 6 with pumpjets...we must think big and go for it as our industrial base gets better - easier said than done...

Sir, the thing with pumpjets is power efficiency. I would recommend a YouTube video by H. I. Sutton (a very renowned OSINT naval analyst). He explains it in a lot of detail.

Coming to pumpjet-equipped SSKs, the only such submarine in the world is the Russian Kilo-class submarine Alrosa. That ship was fitted with a pumpjet as an experiment for pumpjet SSKs and to test out that pumpjet design that is also used on the Borei-class SSBNs. The system itself was good, but Alrosa's refitting is considered to be a failure. As a result, there are no other Kilo-class boats being refitted similarly. Also, as far as memory serves, there are no SSKs with pumpjets planned.