Indian Navy's P-75I Subs to Carry 800 km Range Brahmos-ER on Vertical Launch System, Allowing Long-Range Strike while Staying Submerged

In a major enhancement of its strategic strike capabilities, the Indian Navy plans to equip its next-generation Project 75-India (P-75I) conventional submarines with the vertically-launched BrahMos Extended-Range (ER) supersonic cruise missile.

This integration will provide the submarines with the formidable ability to launch precision attacks on land and sea targets up to 800 kilometres away while remaining submerged, significantly strengthening India's maritime defence and deterrence posture in the Indian Ocean Region.

The plan, confirmed by Dr. Sudhir Mishra, the former head of BrahMos Aerospace, involves fitting the new submarines with a minimum of eight Vertical Launch System (VLS) modules.

A VLS allows missiles to be fired from perpendicular tubes, enabling rapid, versatile, and stealthy strikes from underwater platforms.

This capability transforms the submarine from a traditional anti-ship and surveillance vessel into a potent platform for projecting power deep into enemy territory without compromising its position.

The P-75I programme, a cornerstone of the 'Make in India' initiative in the defence sector, aims to construct six highly advanced diesel-electric submarines.

In early 2025, Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) was selected as the preferred foreign partner to collaborate with India's Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL).

The chosen platform is a derivative of the HDW Class 214 submarine, which will be customised to meet the Indian Navy's specific requirements.

While the standard U-214NG design does not include a VLS, discussions with TKMS are underway to incorporate this crucial modification.

In addition to advanced weaponry, the German firm has also committed to developing a more powerful Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP) system for the submarines.

AIP technology is critical for modern conventional submarines as it allows them to remain submerged for weeks, drastically reducing their vulnerability to detection compared to older models that must surface more frequently.

The weapon at the heart of this upgrade is the BrahMos-ER, a variant of the successful Indo-Russian BrahMos missile.

The ER version nearly doubles the range of the original missile from 450 km to 800 km. Travelling at speeds of Mach 2.8 (almost three times the speed of sound), the BrahMos is exceptionally difficult to intercept.

It uses a combination of satellite and inertial navigation for mid-course guidance and an active radar seeker for terminal accuracy, ensuring precision against high-value targets like enemy warships and critical land infrastructure.

In parallel, the Indian Navy is also upgrading its existing fleet to maintain a credible combat edge.

Older submarines, including the Scorpène (Kalvari-class) and Kilo (Sindhughosh-class) boats, are slated to be armed with the BrahMos-Next Generation (NG) missile.

The BrahMos-NG is a lighter and more compact version designed specifically to be fired from standard 533mm torpedo tubes. This avoids the need for major structural modifications, providing a cost-effective enhancement to the legacy fleet's anti-ship and land-attack capabilities.

This dual-pronged modernisation strategy ensures that the entire conventional submarine arm of the Indian Navy will be equipped with supersonic cruise missiles.

The P-75I submarines, with their long-range VLS-launched missiles and extended underwater endurance, will serve as a key strategic asset.

This capability is seen as essential for India's maritime security, providing a powerful deterrent and shaping the operational environment in the increasingly contested waters of the Indo-Pacific.

 

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[Hari Sud]

That is a better move if you wish to control the Indian Ocean excluding the Gulf area, which will stay US domain.

 

[Imaxxx]

Where are the orders?

 

[vinod kumar nair]

I think project 75I is a waste of national resource instead of having this project at such exuberant price go for all nuke sub until over AIP is ready and tested

 

[Anonymus]

Why not buying more Scorpène subs rather than buying different subs from other countries? Already paid France for TOT; invest in building manufacturing and supply chain for these subs. Giving additional orders for these subs will cost less compared to German ones.

 

[Flanker]

Time to build more subs. We need at least 50+ conventional subs and 20 nuke subs to dominate the IOR.

 

[Rajesh]

With 8 BrahMos in VLS, this means the sub will be in the 4000-ton category, similar to the proposed Type 216 model for Australia. Good, we need a bigger conventional sub for long range and for coastal shallow waters. Kaveri is enough when they get the BrahMos-NG version.

 

[DS]

Invisible, stealthy submarines are the order of the day . These submarines built to our NSQR’s , indigenously constructed , embodying AIP propulsion, are perfect for 21st century warfare.

Fitted with indigenous Brahmos missiles with extended range of 800 kms , and supersonic speeds , low low flying abilities, they can hit any land or sea target in Pakistan/ China / SCS / IOR.

An impressive capability for IN .

 

[Sunny]

Hope this does not delay the program. While VLS would be a good addition, it will come with increased cost and technical challenges to modify systems to incorporate support systems for Brahmos.

 

[Sandeep]

To install a VLS on the U212 or U214 submarine is not possible as it’s small and it can’t fit the upright VLS and missiles. To install a VLS it would take a very long time to develop as they would have to make major changes, redesign it and increase the submarine’s height and length of the hull. Also just to certify the hull, equipment, VLS, missiles and technology it will all take a long time and increase the delay.

The best option is to select the latest U214 submarine with the latest technology and capabilities to increase our underwater and offensive fire power. With this and similar sized submarine we would need to use missiles launched from the torpedo tubes to hit targets but this reduces the missiles range. So far we are 100% indigenously designing, developing and manufacturing a torpedo tube launched missile with a longer range than 50km.

 

[Maxo]

Messed-up logic... Fighter planes costing a fraction can alternate a wider range, numbers, and frequency, hence more missiles. Why should Indian taxpayers' money be spent to make Germany great? This insults India's heritage of buying acumen, to say the least. Platforms must project abilities that are sustained force multipliers.