http://idrw.org/?p=45766#more-45766
Looks like Private Shipyards are going to get a shot at this.

At a time when serviceability of submarines operated by the Indian Navy has come under scrutiny, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is said to be developing a system to carry out structured health monitoring of the under-development nuclear submarines and future conventional submarines of the Navy.
Condition monitoring is critical to forestalling breakdown, as it works on the philosophy of predictive (prognosis-driven) maintenance. Constant health monitoring will maximise asset availability besides extending its service life. Such a system, integrated into the very design of submarines, has been installed on the first indigenous nuclear submarine INS Arihant, V. Bhujanga Rao, DRDO director general (naval systems and materials) told The Hindu during an interaction at Kochi recently.
Indian Navy’s conventional submarines — Kilo-class and HDWs — do not have fixed, on-board health monitoring systems that alert technicians ashore to sub-par performance of equipment and systems, signalling potential breakdown.
Health of these submarines is checked periodically using portable monitoring systems comprising a network of sensors, said sources. Such checks are only possible when the submarine is available at harbour. However, all surface ships of the Navy sport such systems, which hold the key to their durability and extended serviceability.
“There’s a laid down inspection schedule for all vessels. For instance, norms suggest that pumps and motors are to be health-checked every six months while propulsion systems need a through inspection every quarter, added sources.
Mr. Rao said condition monitoring systems are extensively used in civil aviation, with technicians on ground receiving forecast on performance of on board systems via data link which helps them swiftly take corrective measures once the aircraft touches down.
The DRDO project is jointly executed by several naval and aeronautical labs and research institutions, with the Naval Science and Technology Laboratory in Visakhapatnam and Aeronautical Development Agency in Bangalore in the lead. The first Indian fighter jet LCA Tejas doesn’t have an on board conditioning monitoring system, but the plan is to have such a system for the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) and the Indo-Russian Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA), both under development.
Citing the complexity of such a system, Mr. Rao said at least 800 sensors are needed to monitor the gas turbine that’s being developed by the Gas Turbine Research Establishment, another DRDO facility.
The system being put on board the nuclear submarines will constantly keep a tab on the performance of each and every system and equipment, including critical auxiliary equipment.
On the air independent propulsion (AIP) system, which will considerably enhance the underwater endurance of conventional diesel-electric submarines, Mr. Rao said talks are under way with French firm DCNS to install the DRDO-developed AIP based on hydrogen fuel cell on the last Scorpene submarine built at Mazagaon Dock under the Navy’s Project 75.
“Our technology is proven on a land-based prototype. A submarine-based prototype plug weighing nearly 300 tonnes is now being worked on. The French MESMA AIP being offered for the Scorpenes is an old system with a steam turbine,” he said. The DRDO AIP can be reconfigured for the second line of future conventional submarines under P75 I as well, he added.
Will wrote:This is the next awaited big ticket project. Finally cleared and the RFP should be out soon. Lets track it here. Hope it doesn't turn into another saga though in way it already kinda is...
http://idrw.org/?p=45766#more-45766
Looks like Private Shipyards are going to get a shot at this.
We learned that the 4,700 tons SSK was designed for an endurance of 14,000 nautical miles (3 months autonomy) and a continuous transit speed of 14 knots for 1 week thanks to its Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system fitted with two fuel cells.
The SMX OCEAN concept is fitted with an impressive load of up to 34 weapons for action in the four domains: anti-air, anti-surface, anti-submarine & action against land targets.
The SMX OCEAN SSK is fitted with one large modular VLS tube that may launch up to six MdCN vertically (much like the Virginia payload module developed by GDEB for the US Navy’s Virginia class of SSN)
What about the german built Dolphin class subs with israel....just thinking !
The Indian Navy - the end users - will identify shipyards that can acquire the technology from foreign manufacturers and build the boats on schedule...There are seven shipyards in India, including four government yards.
Indian companies have so far not demonstrated the capability to develop a submarine in its entirety. But Jaitley and the Defence Acquisitions Council (DAC) expect that the shipyards selected on the basis of the navy’s requirements will enter into foreign ventures immediately to qualify in the competition.
The decision to approve the Project 75i programme to build six submarines was prompted by two factors.
First, a 30-year submarine-building programme the navy had drawn up in the 1990s is way behind schedule. The navy wanted to have 24 submarines by 2024; it now effectively has 13 with two or three constantly under refit.
Last year, it lost the INS Sindhurakshak, which went down in its berth in Mumbai.
Second, understanding that submarine-building programmes are delayed because foreign vendors cannot be made more accountable, the establishment has decided to make an Indian partner equally responsible.
This means a bulk of the estimate contract value of Rs 50,000 crore (which is likely to escalate), can translate into profits for Indian firms.
Jaitley’s chief purpose in the DAC meeting, his first after returning to office following surgery, was to send the message that the government was ending the tardiness that marked defence procurements under his predecessor, A.K. Antony.
The P75i project is one of the country’s biggest military acquisition programmes. The navy was also signalling that the delays were damaging its capabilities, with more ships being decommissioned than inducted into service.
A committee headed by the defence production secretary will visit seven shipyards to identify those capable of making the P75i submarines.
Five of these are in the public sector: Mazagon Dock (Mumbai), Cochin Shipyard, Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (Calcutta), Hindustan Shipyard (Visakhapatnam) and Goa Shipyard.
The two possible private contenders are Larsen and Toubro (yard in Tamil Nadu) and Pipavav (Gujarat). Larsen and Toubro is already involved in India’s Arihant-class nuclear submarine project.
The P75i submarines are said to be a generation ahead of the submarines that the navy currently operates. The navy wants three additional features to improve its capabilities: air independent propulsion, designed to allow conventional submarines to stay underwater longer than other conventional submarines; the capability to launch land-attack cruise missiles; and enhanced stealth features to reduce noise and vibration and make the vessels harder to detect by sonar.
The committee has six weeks to finalise its recommendations on the shipyards.
srin wrote:The sticky thing here is the VLS. There seems to be no existing and proven design that has it.
Makes me wonder - given that Nirbhay seems compact enough (atleast diameter-wise) to be fired through torpedo tubes and Brahmos-M in the works that is also presumably designed to be fired from a TT - do you really need the VLS ?
If you get rid of VLS, then you suddenly have a lot of options.
Karan M wrote:Darshan, please see operation trident. And then think PRC harbours. And whether logistics are beyond us. Never underestimate our folks ability to make things happen.
http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/MONITOR/I ... harry.html
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Trident_(1971)
Pratyush wrote:Personally I am at a loss to understand this decision. We have the Arihant design ready to enter service. The navy could easily use the lessons from her and use that experience to design a new boat. So why go outside the country for designs & expertise.