MoD inks deals worth ₹2,867 cr to boost navy’s underwater power
Hindustan TimesNEW DELHI: The defence ministry on Monday signed two separate contracts worth ₹2,867 crore to strengthen the Indian Navy’s underwater capabilities for retrofitting its Kalvari-class submarines with air independent propulsion systems to enhance their endurance, and integration of electronic heavy-weight torpedoes to boost their firepower capabilities. The defence ministry signed two contracts with the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited and the Naval Group, France. The ministry signed a ₹1,990-crore contract with Mumbai-based Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited for the construction of an AIP plug for the Defence Research and Development Organisation -AIP system and its integration on the conventional submarines, and another contract worth ₹877 crore with Frances’s Naval Group for integration of the torpedoes to augment firepower capabilities of the Kalvari-Class submarines, the defence ministry said. The project pertaining to construction of AIP-plug and its integration will enhance the endurance of conventional submarines and significantly contribute towards the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative,” the ministry said in a statement.