Defence News of India

Andrey Baranov, the Deputy Director General of the Rubin Design Bureau, has stated that Project 75I is unfeasible because the needed technologies cannot be developed within the timeframes specified.

Rubin Design Bureau of Russia, which had proposed its Amur-1650-class submarine to India under Project 75I, stated that the Indian Navy’s desired submarine does not exist and that none of the current offerings are suitable.

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Rubin Design Bureau of Russia (Amur-1650 class submarine), Navantia of Spain, and Naval Group of France have already withdrawn their offers after the Indian Navy mandated that Fuel-cell based Air-independent propulsion (AIP) systems must be based on a proven design, and that submarines must also include proven next-generation lithium-ion battery packs.

Daewoo Shipping & Marine Engineering (DSME) of South Korea with its KSS-III Batch-II Submarine and ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) of Germany with its Type 214 are the only two submarines that meet these requirements.

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However, TKMS has expressed its inability to be fully compliant with the existing technical and commercial terms of the Indian Navy’s Request for Proposal (RFP), which seeks deep transfer of technology (ToT) to create submarine design capability

Rubin Design Bureau has offered to collaborate with the Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau to jointly develop a submarine that meets all of the Indian Navy’s requirements.

Rubin Design Bureau has also agreed to incorporate DRDO-developed submarine technology, such as its Fuel-cell based Air-independent propulsion (AIP) system and next-generation lithium-ion battery pack.