Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) has built four submarines without the assistance of foreign supervisory teams, marking a major advancement in the company’s submarine manufacturing skills. This achievement is ascribed to the French Naval Group’s successful technology transfer, which has greatly improved MDL’s in-house submarine building capabilities. A key component of the Indo-French strategic cooperation has been the partnership between MDL and Naval Group, especially under India’s “Atmanirbhar Bharat” project, which aims to encourage self-reliance in defence production.
MDL is now ready to build submarines on its own because to the effective knowledge transfer that has allowed it to create a strong submarine building ecosystem. The success of the P75 program, which comprised building six Scorpene-class submarines, is demonstrated by this accomplishment. An important turning point in India’s push for submarine building independence was the commissioning of INS Vaghsheer, the sixth vessel in this class. In addition to improving India’s underwater combat capabilities, the cooperation has created a robust industrial ecosystem that now employs many Indian engineers and involves more than 50 Indian enterprises.
With a focus on the value of technology transfer in bolstering India’s defence industrial base, the French Naval Group has pledged to support the Indian Navy through upcoming initiatives. Additionally, the partnership has created new markets.
