The Defence Ministry inked the contract with one of the leading European system providers for submarines and naval vessels.
In order to counter threats from China's nuclear-powered attack submarine in the Indian Ocean, India is equipping and upgrading its two Shishumar Class submarines with Harpoon Anti-Submarine Counter measure missiles.
India signed a key agreement with Germany on Thursday worth €35 million (approx.Rs 2.5 billion) for the upgraded submarines so that they can fire Harpoon missiles. The retrofit of the new weapon suite will be carried out in two of the four SSK submarines (INS Shishumar, Shankush, Shalki and Shankul) at Naval Dockyard, Mumbai and is backed by a training package to support and operate the system.
The Defence Ministry inked the contract with Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems, one of the leading European system providers for submarines and naval vessels for the integration of missiles. The German defence major has also offered to integrate any weapon system, including 'Brahmos' onto the latest 214 Class Submarines for the upcoming project P75 (I) project, under which six submarines will be build through 'Make in India' route. The Indian Navy has been operating HDW Class 209/1500 submarines for decades. The German submarine manufacturer has been providing logistics support to the Indian Navy for the same, in terms of spares and components for these boats
Commenting on the latest development, Dr Gurnad Sodhi, Managing Director of Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems’ operations in India, said, “It is a key milestone in our long-standing commitment towards India. We have the capacity to integrate any weapon system that is selected by the Indian Navy, onto our submarines. We have successfully carried out such integration on similar boats for other Navies across the world. We are happy to take on this project to now integrate the harpoon missiles in two of the four SSK submarines.”
Off late, Indian Navy has noted China's interests in the Indian Ocean. Last year, a Chinese Song class diesel-electric submarine flanked by a destroyer, had docked for a few days at a Chinese-owned container terminal in Colombo. This was followed by the deployment of the relatively advanced Shang Class nuclear fast attack boat, a significant cause of concern at Naval Headquarters. Also the deployment of a submarine tender deep in the South Indian Ocean as part of search operations for MH-370, the missing Malaysian jetliner had also caused concern in New Delhi. The presence of this vessel suggests the deployment of a Chinese nuclear submarine far from its shores, something which has not been the norm for China's submarine fleet in the past which has typically operated well within the range of ships and aircraft operating from land bases.
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 "India forced to upgrade submarine fleet to counter Chinese design in India Ocean")
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