Larsen & Toubro and Navantia of Spain on Monday signed a teaming agreement (TA) to participate in a techno-commercial bid for the Indian Navy’s six P75 (India) submarine programme expected to be valued at $5.8 billion.

The TA was signed at the Spanish Embassy here to meet the deadline of the Request for Proposal (RFP) floated by the Ministry of Defence for six submarines which was earlier extended to August. The other bidder is defence PSU Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders which has tied up with Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems.

The L&T officially stated that as per the agreement, Navantia would carry out the design of P75(I) submarines based on its S80 class of submarines, the first of which was launched in 2021 and is undergoing sea trials prior to its delivery to Spanish Navy at the end of this year. The construction part of the submarine would most likely be done by the L&T.

Also read: US Navy inks agreement with L&T, to also tie up with Mazagon Dock and Goa Shipyard

Navantia, stated the L&T, has been involved in design and construction of Scorpene class of submarines together with DCNS (Now Naval Group) of France. The Spanish defence firm has also been involved in the Scorpene submarines (Kalvari class) built in India including hand-holding of the Indian yard, pointed out the L&T.

Based on bio-ethanol

India Navy’s P75(I) programme calls for integration of an AIP system which would allow submarines longer under water life. “Navantia’s state-of-the-art 3rd generation AIP solution is the most advanced and efficient AIP system in the world, apart from also being the most compact, easiest to exploit and maintain and environment friendly,” claims L&T which has also developed its own AIP and is going to refit them into Kalvari class of submarines of the Indian Navy.

“It uses bio-ethanol as a source of hydrogen which is known to be cost-efficient, easily available, and does not call for any special infrastructure. High density of hydrogen in ethanol improves the AIP system’s efficiency. Ethanol, being in liquid form, eliminates the risks associated with storing hydrogen,” said an L&T official.

The wide availability of ethanol enables the system to be refuelled anywhere in the world, stated the L&T.

The TA was a result of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that L&T and Navantia had signed on April 11, this year, at Madrid. “Expected to be valued at over €4.8 billion, the project is India‘s largest defence acquisition project. This would also be followed by a 30-year lifecycle sustenance contract of similar value,” the L&T said in an official statement.

The teaming agreement was signed in the presence of SN Subrahmanyan, L&T CEO & MD, and Augustin Alvarez Blanco, Naval Construction Vice-President, and Member of the Board – Navantia. Also present at the occasion were José María Ridao Domínguez, Ambassador of Spain in India, and Captain (Navy) Fernando Alvarez, Spanish Defence Attaché, along with senior officials from both L&T Defence and Navantia.

P75(I) will be the first programme to be processed under the ambitious Strategic Partnership (SP) model of acquisition of the Ministry of Defence.

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