India Proposes BrahMos Missile Requirement For Next Submarines

The Indian Defense Ministry has decided to mount the Indo-Russian BrahMos cruise missile onto the six conventional submarines purchased under a $12 billion tender.

India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), which is jointly producing the BrahMos with Russia, has persuaded the MoD to incorporate the requirement for the tender, expected to be floated by the end of the year, according to Defense News.

The forthcoming submarines tender will stiffen the competition among the participants -- DCNS of France, Navantia of Spain and HDW of Germany, meanwhile, the Russians told the Indian Navy this month that their Amur-class submarines could accommodate the BrahMos missile with little modification.

India is finalizing a formal tender to purchase six advanced conventional submarines with air-independent propulsion technology.

The tender requirements also specify that two of the six submarines are to be made in the overseas shipyard and the remaining four are slotted to be license-produced only in a state-owned shipyard.

The six submarines are to be purchased within the limitations of the Missile Technology Control Regime, which restricts the proliferation of missiles capable of flying beyond 300 kilometers, an Indian MoD official was quoted in the report.

BahMos is homemade and has a range of less than 300 kilometers, which would be best suited for the submarine, the MoD source added.

The submarines are to have a surface speed of 12 knots and submerged speed of 19 knots. They will have a range of 50 to 60 days of navigation on the surface and 20 to 30 days of navigation submerged at 4 knots, the report added.