Germany gives India special status for military procurement

File photo of German Ambassador to India Philipp Ackermann. Photo: X/@AmbAckermann

Germany has given India a special status, to speed up the approval of military purchases, German Ambassador Philipp Ackermann said on Wednesday, adding that the German supplier is waiting for the Indian government to complete its decision-making processes regarding the P-75I. underwater contract. The multibillion-dollar deal will top the agenda during this week’s visit to India by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and at the weekend when Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will visit.

Germany’s TKMS (Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems) and Spain’s Navantia. the two are competing in the battle to sell advanced conventional submarines to the Indian Navy under Project-75I, with a deal valued at over Rs 43,000 crore. After completing the field evaluation, the bids are now under evaluation for technical compliance.

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“The German defense industry is very independent. It’s a private business, but we’re very clearly committed to making these deals happen. So if the Indian military wants to buy something from German companies, what you have now is a concentration paper in the German Cabinet that is very focused on this purchase, and that means the approval time is very fast,” said the envoy at a press conference before the Chancellor’s visit.

In the past, although about 95% of India’s requests for military purchases were approved, it took time, said Mr. Ackermann, added that the process will now be accelerated by India’s special status. He noted that in the past, Indian officials came to Germany or met their German counterparts with a long list of requests; that list is now empty as applications have been approved, he said.

Regarding the submarine agreement, Mr. Ackermann said it was now up to the Indian government to make a decision. The German government has made it clear that it is “strongly supportive” and will be ready to formally engage in the deal. “But an important decision must be made before going in,” he said, calling it a difficult decision, because there is a lot of money involved.

Assessment tests

While an Indian Navy team visited the TKMS shipyard in March for a field test, the testing of Navantia’s contribution was conducted at the end of June. Defense officials said the investigation into the personnel was ongoing.

The design offered by TKMS, in partnership with Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), is based on its highly successful Class 214 and Class 212CD submarines. Navantia, together with Larsen & Toubro, has delivered a submarine based on its new S80 class of submarines, the first of which was launched in 2021 and was delivered to the Spanish Navy as the S-81 ‘Isaac Peral’ in November 2023. .

Endurance under water

The main decision, however, to qualify the P-75I is the Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system, which improves the endurance of the submarine, with the requirement that it must be operationally confirmed. Germany has demonstrated an AIP that has been proven to work, although it falls short of endurance requirements, officials said.

Navantia, on the other hand, demonstrated the AIP installed on the submarine that operated on the surface and not while submerged, preparing to demonstrate its underwater performance at the appropriate time.

Since the beginning of this year, Germany has eased the licensing requirements for the sale of military weapons to India as required under the Government Office of Economic Affairs and Export Control, and even granted India a license for small arms.