Indian shipbuilder Mazagon Dock signed an MoU in Mumbai last week with Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems on a 4.8 billion-euro ($5.17 billion) deal to build six non-nuclear submarines in India, according to a report by RFI, which said the subs would be built under Delhi’s “Make in India” initiative, designed to reduce costly military imports by India, the world’s largest weapons buyer.
Officials said a final agreement was likely to be ready by the end of 2023 and that the subs would have “significant local content”, according to the report, which said the Indian navy already has 16 conventional subs, but 11 of them are over 20 years old, plus one nuclear-powered sub leased from Russia. German defence minister Boris Pistorius hailed the deal as a ‘decisive turning point’ for “India and the Indian-German strategic partnership”.
Read the full report: RFI.
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