BUILDING OF SUBMARINES
LOK SABHA
The original proposal
to build submarines based on the design of the German company,
HDW, as modified to suit Indian Naval requirements but validated
by a foreign vendor which had access to the original design data,
was shelved mainly due to non-availability to the required weapon
systems which was to be acquired from a French company. The French
submarine meets the technical and operational requirements of
the Indian Navy and has the advantage of fitment of the required
weapon system. The choice of the French vendor was strictly on
the basis of its assessed technical competence in transferring
the build technology and the commercial offer that it has made.
The French consortium, being a vendor to Pakistan also, is not
a relevant factor.
This information
was given by the Defence Minister Shri George Fernandes in a written
reply to Shri Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi in Lok Sabha today.
