A former high-ranking officer in the Indian Navy has raised concerns about the Defence Research and Development Organisation's (DRDO) role in a major submarine project, questioning whether it duplicates existing capabilities within the Navy itself. Vice Admiral (Retd) K.N.
Sushil, a veteran submariner and former Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Naval Command, publicly questioned the necessity of DRDO leading the design of new submarines under Project-76.
Project-76 is a significant initiative to build six advanced diesel-electric submarines for the Indian Navy. The project is expected to receive final approval from the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) by April 2025.
DRDO claims these submarines will be 90-95% indigenous, displacing between 3,000 and 4,000 tons, and feature cutting-edge technologies. These are anticipated to include DRDO's own phosphoric acid fuel cell based Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP) system for extended underwater endurance, lithium-ion batteries, pump-jet propulsion for quieter operation, and potentially Vertical Launch Systems (VLS) to fire cruise missiles.
DRDO aims to complete the design by 2028, with the first submarine entering service around 2033-34. This timeline is crucial for the Navy, which seeks to modernize its fleet to address the growing naval capabilities of China and Pakistan.
Vice Admiral Sushil's primary concern centers on the Navy's own Submarine Design Group (SDG), a specialized unit within the Directorate of Naval Design (DND).
The DND, the Indian Navy's in-house design organization, has a long and successful history, having designed over 19 classes of warships since the 1960s. These include major vessels like the Shivalik-class frigates, Kolkata-class destroyers, and the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant.
The SDG specifically focuses on submarine design. Even the Arihant-class nuclear submarines, a DRDO-led project, relied significantly on the SDG's expertise in hull design and hydrodynamics, as acknowledged in a 2016 Ministry of Defence (MoD) report.
Sushil also questioned the procedural aspects of Project-76. He pointed out that if DRDO possesses the claimed design capabilities, it is unclear why a separate design approval phase, requiring CCS sanction, is necessary.
The Project-76 timeline allocates three years for design finalization, a duration typical for naval design projects. However, DRDO's process involves external validation, a step not typically required for designs originating from the SDG, which operates within a streamlined Navy-MoD approval process.
The underlying issue, as highlighted by the retired Vice Admiral, appears to be potential overlap and inefficient use of resources. DRDO's involvement in submarine design, with reports of the project budget potentially reaching ₹10,000 crore (approximately $1.2 billion USD), is seen by some as redundant, given the Navy's existing in-house expertise.
Critics suggest that consolidating efforts under the SDG could potentially expedite Project-76 and avoid duplication. The debate raises broader questions about the optimal allocation of resources and responsibilities within India's defence establishment.
