India unlikely to go for additional Scorpene submarine order

After a massive leak threatened to blow the stealth capabilities of the Indian Navy's yet-to-be-inducted Scorpene submarines, India might be unwilling to go in for additional boats.

The French contractor DCNS had offered the Indian Navy additional three submarines, which would also be build at Mazagon Docks Limited (MDL). The recent leak might have forced the government to restrict the number of the submarines to only six, the Asian Age reported.

"The number of Scorpene boats under the P-75 will remain only six now owing to the scare generated by the leak," the Asian Age reported quoting senior defence official, who was aware of the developments.

DCNS was contracted by the Indian Navy to help them build six Scorpene submarines, with transfer of technology (ToT). The first among the conventional boats is INS Kalvari, which is already undergoing sea trials since May 2016. INS Khanderi, the second of the boat in this project, is expected to be launched into the sea later this year.

To counter the fast depleting Indian submarine fleet, the government has Project-75 India programme (P-75I) under consideration. This too will see foreign shipbuilders teaming up with Indian shipyard to construct them in India.

This project too features DCNS offering Scorpene, but it is likely that India might pick other builders. They include Russia is offering Amur submarine, Japan is offering Soryu, Germany is offering HDW Type 214 and Spain has Navantia S-80.

Several naval experts had previously clarified that the leaked document over the Indian Navy Scorpene submarine was too "generic" and many of the features in the boat change over time, during refits. It was also noted that since these submarines are constructed in India, the boats can be tweaked accordingly, the report noted.