Following the news that India has commissioned its fifth diesel-electric Kalvari-class submarine INS Vagir;

Sourabh Banik, Defense Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view:

“INS Vagir is a testament of India’s robust domestic submarine-building capability, which contributed towards the induction of three submarines from multiple classes in the last 24 months. However, India is yet to catch-up with its regional rival China which has inducted naval ships and submarines at a much faster pace over the last few years.

“India will commission one more Kalvari-class submarine, which will mark the culmination of P-75 program involving the procurement of six Scorpene diesel-electric submarines with technology transfer from France. Following the completion of P-75 program, the country will continue to explore its indigenous submarine-building capability and will likely start the P-75(I) program this year, which will involve the procurement of another set of six AIP powered submarines.

“GlobalData’s report ‘Global Submarine Market: Competitive Landscape and Forecast’ reveals that India is expected to cumulatively spend about $25 billion to procure various classes of submarines between 2023 and 2033. Although domestic defense companies will be the major beneficiaries of this expenditure, it will provide a window to various foreign vendors and sub-system manufacturers to participate in this market, as India wants foreign OEMs to team-up with domestic strategic partners and work towards the delivery of various types of submarines to the Indian Navy through this decade.”