Paris backs out of submarine project ahead of Modi - Macron meet

Paris, May 3: French Defence major naval group has announced to opt out of the 'P-75 India' submarine project. The announcement comes while Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on his three legged Europe visit and ahead of the meet of PM Modi and French president Macron.

 

 

 

 

The French Naval Group has announced that it will be unable to participate in the P - 75 India (P-75I) project, under which six conventional submarines are to be built in India for the Indian navy. The Naval group that opted out is one of the five shortlisted international players for the Rs. 43,000-crore project. According to the Indian Express, the group said it cannot meet conditions of the Request for Proposal (RFP) and will, therefore, not continue with its bid.

 

 

 

 

 

'Project 75 India' is the largest under the new strategic partnership model which will see an international Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) partner with an Indian company to manufacture submarines in India, and share the technology. It is the second project to build submarines in India. The Naval Group just completed building six Kalvari class (Scorpene class) conventional submarines under the P-75 project in partnership with the Mazagon Dockyard Shipbuilding Limited (MDL) in India. The project was signed in 2005, when the Naval Group was called DCNS.

 

 

In a statement on Apr 30, Laurent Videau, Country and Managing Director, Naval Group India, said “the present RFP requires that the fuel cell AIP be sea proven, which is not the case for us yet since the French Navy does not use such a propulsion system.” The Naval Group’s withdrawal from the process has raised concerns about the P-75I project. It has become the first of the five shortlisted OEMs to publicly pull out of the race.