L&T, Navantia sign a Teaming Agreement for submarine programme

In a significant development involving the submarine development plan, Larsen & Toubro and Navantia, the Spanish state-owned shipbuilding company, has signed a Teaming Agreement (TA) for the purpose of submission of a techno-commercial bid for the Indian Navy’s P75 project.

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 the Spanish Navy at the end of 2023.

Apart from the S80 class, Navantia has been involved in the design and construction of the Scorpéne class of submarines together with DCNS (now Naval Group) of France, which have been exported to Chile and Malaysia. Navantia has also been involved in the Scorpene submarines (Kalvari class) built in India including handholding of the Indian yard.

Also Read | L&T, DRDO ink pact for AIP System for submarines of Indian Navy

The agreement was signed in the presence of S N Subrahmanyan, L&T CEO & MD and Augustin Alvarez Blanco, Naval Construction Vice President, and Member of the Board – Navantia, according to a press statement.

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.

“Navantia’s glorious 300-year-old track record in naval construction & technical expertise gives us a competitive advantage in this program and offer the Bio-Ethanol Stealth Technology (BEST) and environmentally Green AIP solution. We are committed to providing the most contemporary solution for the Indian Navy’s requirements at a competitive price,” said Subrahmanya.

“It gives us great joy to be in a position to be the design and technology partner for P75(I). We are also in collaboration with L&T for the Landing Platform Dock (LPD) program whose tender is eagerly awaited. With these two prestigious programs for the Indian Navy, Navantia is proud to be making a key contribution towards fulfilling the defence needs of India, a nation with which Spain shares excellent relationship,” said Blanco.

Project 75 (I) requires the Indian bidder to tie up with a Foreign Collaborator (FC) and execute the program for delivery of six conventional submarines equipped with Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP), while achieving targetted Indigenous Content. Expected to be valued at over Euro 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. P75(I) would be the first program to be processed under the ambitious Strategic Partnership (SP) model of acquisition of the Ministry of Defence. L&T and Navantia signed an MoU for the program on 11 April 2023 in Madrid, which has now culminated in this TA.