India Is About to Sign an $8 Billion Submarine Deal With Germany. Here's Why It Took 25 Years.

India's Project 75(I) submarine programme — first conceived in the late 1990s — is now in its final stages of approval, with an approximately $8 billion deal for six conventional submarines from Germany's TKMS expected to be signed within weeks following Finance Ministry clearance on May 28, and the new Navy Chief assuming charge May 31.

₹70,000+ Cr ($8 Bn)	25+ years	6	45
Project 75(I) total contract value	Time from original conception to near-final approval	Conventional submarines to be built under the deal	Warships currently under construction in Indian shipyards

Where the deal stands

India's Project 75(I) submarine acquisition programme — intended to deliver six next-generation conventional submarines with advanced Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP) systems — is in its final stages of approval as of early May 2026. During a state visit to Germany on April 21–23, 2026, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited submarine manufacturer TKMS in Kiel alongside German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, who publicly stated the contract was expected to be signed within three months.

According to Wikipedia's continuously updated tracking of the programme, the union finance ministry cleared the deal on May 28, 2026, leaving Cabinet Committee on Security approval as the only remaining formal requirement — expected following the change of Naval Chief on May 31, when Krishna Swaminathan was set to take charge.

Why a programme conceived in the late 1990s is only now closing

Project 75(I) traces its origins to the late 1990s and early 2000s, when the Indian Navy first issued a request for information to global submarine builders. Formal approval came in 2010, then again in 2014, and a third time in January 2019 under the Strategic Partnership model — each time stalling before contract signature. Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders' partnership with TKMS became the sole remaining bidder after a competing bid from Larsen & Toubro and Spain's Navantia was disqualified in January 2025.

According to a January 2026 analysis published by The Wire, even with a 2026-27 contract signature, the first submarine is unlikely to enter service before the early 2030s, with the sixth boat arriving only toward the end of the decade — meaning a programme conceived at the turn of the millennium may take nearly 40 years to deliver its first unit.

Why this is happening now, specifically

The urgency behind finally closing Project 75(I) is tied directly to the Indian Navy's underwater capability gap, which has drawn renewed attention following the four-day conflict with Pakistan in May 2025. According to Defense News reporting from April 28, 2026, India has separately inducted its third nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, INS Aridhaman, and a new stealth frigate, INS Taragiri, as part of a broader push to expand underwater deterrence capacity in the face of increasing Chinese naval presence in the Indian Ocean.

Retired Rear Admiral Raja Menon, quoted in the same report, noted that India's maritime geography enables it to dominate the Indian Ocean, and that expanding both conventional submarines and aircraft carriers is intended to signal that India is "not prepared to let anybody else dominate these waters."

The broader naval modernisation context

As of May 2026, the Indian Navy has 45 warships under construction domestically, according to Wikipedia's tracking of Future of the Indian Navy, with in-principle approval secured for 195 additional vessels — 69 surface ships, six submarines, and 120 fast interceptor craft — as the Navy works toward a target fleet of 150-160 warships by 2030 and over 200 by 2035.

The inter-governmental agreement underpinning the TKMS submarine deal, signed during German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's visit to India on January 12-13, 2026, covers long-term support, technology transfer, and personnel training — provisions intended to ensure Project 75(I) builds lasting indigenous submarine-building capability rather than a one-time platform purchase.

Sources:

1. Wikipedia — Project-75 (India) submarine acquisition project — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project-75_(India)_submarine_acquisition_project

2. Wikipedia — Future of the Indian Navy — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_of_the_Indian_Navy

3. Defense News — India Races to Boost Conventional, Nuclear Submarine Combat Punch, Apr 28 2026 — https://www.defensenews.com/global/asia-pacific/2026/04/28/india-races-to-boost-conventional-nuclear-submarine-combat-punch/

4. The Wire — Why India Can't Close Key Submarine and Fighter Deals, Jan 16 2026 — https://m.thewire.in/article/diplomacy/why-india-cant-close-key-submarine-and-fighter-deals

5. GIS Reports — India's Plan for Naval Modernization — https://www.gisreportsonline.com/r/growth-indian-naval-power/