NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday cleared the mega indigenous project to build two nuclear-powered attack submarines as well as the deal to acquire 31 weaponised MQ-9B Predator drones from the US, collectively worth around Rs 68,000 crore, as part of the long-term plan to counter China’s aggressive and expansionist tactics in the region, sources told TOI.
The PM-led cabinet committee on security (CCS) approved the long-pending Rs 40,000 crore `Project-77’ to construct the two nuclear-powered attack submarines (called SSNs in naval parlance), which will be armed with conventional missiles, torpedoes and other weapons, at the ship-building centre at Visakhapatnam , the sources said.
The CCS also gave the green signal to the around Rs 28,000 crore ($3.3 billion) acquisition of the 31 MQ-9B drones, with 15 Sea Guardians earmarked for Navy and 8 Sky Guardians each for Army and IAF, paving the way for the govt-to-govt deal to be inked within the next few days.
Both the SSNs and the MQ-9B remotely-piloted aircraft are `hunter-killer’ weapon platforms because they can quietly gather intelligence, track enemy targets at extended ranges and then destroy them if required. The twin-capability, one deep underwater and the other high in the air, is crucial given China’s rapidly-expanding naval footprint in the Indian Ocean Region and beyond.
“It will take around 10-12years for the first SSN, with a 190 MW pressurised light-water reactor and a displacement of almost 10,000-tonne, to roll out. The two SSNs will be around 95% indigenous, with foreign help only being taken for some design consultancy,” a source said.
The original case was for six such SSNs, which with their speeds of over 30 knots, long endurance and capability to discreetly operate in enemy waters are meant for conventional (non-nuclear) warfare. “Apart from anti-ship missiles and torpedoes to take out enemy warships and submarines, they will also have land-attack cruise missiles. The other four SSNs will be cleared at a later stage,” a source said.