Friday, October 7, 2005
India and France to sign Scorpene Sub deal on October six.
Press Trust of India
New Delhi, September 27, 2005
A high-level French team is arriving here next week to ink the $3 billion (Rs 13,000 crore) deal for India's acquisition of six Scorpene submarines and also to hold parleys on the offer of transfer of nuclear technology for peaceful uses.
The delegation, which would include officials and members of the Dcn-International, the manufacturers of Scorpene, will hold talks with the officials of the Defence Ministry and Navy to finalise the final delivery schedule of the subs and to further strengthen strategic ties between the two countries.
The Scorpene deal would be signed on October 6 by Defence Secretary Shekhar Dutt and officials of the French company in the presence of top officials from both the sides, according to highly placed defence ministry sources.
Under the announcement made jointly by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and French President Jacques Chirac in Paris on September 12, the six Scorpene submarines are to be manufactured at Mazagoan docks in Mumbai under full technology transfer.
Though the delivery schedule has not been made public, according to highly placed sources the first of the submarines would roll out by 2009 and the remaining five by 2015.
The sources said that under the agreement, India would also be free to market the submarines in third countries.
Scorpene, billed as the world's most silent underwater killer machine, would be manufactured under technology transfer by the state-owned Mazagoan docks in Mumbai and delivered between 2010 and 2015.
As part of the deal, the submarines will be armed with EADS SM39 Exocet sub-harpoon anti-ship missiles. The other powerful weapons payload on the subs include Black Shark and other advanced torpedoes.
With the capability to strike targets underwater, on surface and on land, Scorpene has a radical new design with reduced sound emissions which enables the submarines to strike at long distances without detection.
The submarines have an operational cycle of 240 days a year and endurance to carry 50 days patrol to ensure maximum utilisation.
They also offer advanced capabilities for mine warfare, intelligence gathering and special operations. Their acquisition would enable India to reopen its submarine building assembly lines.
© HT Media Ltd. 2005.