Italy’s ‘Black Shark’ also returns to the race for the torpedoes of Navy’s Kalvari class submarines, which was once blacklisted by India.

New Delhi: The Indian Navy requires 48 heavyweight torpedoes for its ‘Kalvari’ series submarines. For this, companies of Italy, Germany and France are in the race to make torpedoes. The ‘Black Shark’ torpedo of the Italian company ‘Leonardo’ was earlier also included in this race, but it was stopped due to corruption allegations. Now the company has been removed from the blacklist, after which ‘Black Shark’ has once again joined the race for this contract. This deal is worth about Rs 3,000 crore.

Torpedo testing was done in 2009

Torpedoes from Germany and France were tested two years ago, but Italian torpedoes were tested in 2009 during the UPA government. However, it is not yet clear whether the Navy will conduct fresh tests or rely on old data.

This deal was once at the forefront

‘Black Shark’ was the lead in the deal for 98 torpedoes in 2008-09. But in 2013, the project was stopped and the case was handed over to the CBI by the Defense Ministry. The Navy has been trying to acquire new HWTs for more than a decade. This was the last time there was competition between German and French torpedoes. The French F21 torpedo proved to be technologically superior and the lowest cost. However, this deal could not be finalized.

Defense Ministry had changed the plan

After this the Defense Ministry approved the two-way plan. First, 48 torpedoes should be purchased from a foreign vendor to meet the immediate need. Second, a large number of torpedoes should be manufactured in the country under the ‘Make in India’ scheme. For this, Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) can work together with a private company.

These torpedoes will be installed in ‘Kalvari’ (Scorpene) series submarines. These submarines are being built at Mazagon Dockyard in Mumbai. India has so far ordered six submarines of this series and negotiations are underway for three more submarines.