A Kilo class submarine - to test DRDO's AIP, Electric propulsion & Lithium Ion battery

DRDO requests for Kilo Class submarine

As per few reports, DRDO has requested for a Kilo class submarine which will be used as a test bed for integrating & testing the technologies that will be used in the existing and future submarines to be designed and developed indigenously. DRDO will be testing the 5MW electric propulsion motor, lithium ion battery and AIP systems developed indigenously.

India currently has 15 conventional submarines. There are 4 Shishumar (HDW), 8 Sindhughosh (Kilo) and 4 Scorpene with 2 more to be inducted between 2022-23. Shishumars and Sindhughoshs are near the end of their service lives. Major refit and life certification of 2 Shishumar and 4 Sindhughosh-class submarines will extend their service lives by a decade, but this still leaves the Indian Navy with half the submarines it needs. Its highly likely that one of the Kilo-Class submarine which is nearing its retirement will be handed over to DRDO for its development, integration and testing activities.

Lithium-ion battery

Lithium-ion battery is going to be a game changer for a submarine. At present Japan is the only country have an operational submarine powered by Lithium ion and South Korea has also developed this technology and working on operationalizing them. Back in 2020, navy has released an RFI for indigenous development of 500Kwh Lithium ion battery for submarines which can also be scaled upto 5MWh. Navy is planning to replace the traditional Lead Acid batteries with this Lithium ion battery. As per the latest update Indian Navy has selected the vendor for the development of the Lithium-ion battery. It might take 20 more months as per the RFI to get the working Lithium-ion in place. This is definitely good news as this will be first fitted in the Kilo class submarines and later can be retro-fitted with the Kalvari class submarine.

AIP system: A force multiplier

AIP has a force multiplier effect on lethality of a diesel electric submarine as it enhances the submerged endurance of the boat, several folds. Fuel cell-based AIP has merits in performance compared to other AIP technologies. While there are different types of AIP systems being pursued internationally, fuel cell-based AIP of NMRL is unique as the hydrogen is generated onboard. It uses phosphoric acid as an electrolyte that reacts with hydrogen (generated from sodium borohydride) and liquid oxygen to generate electricity. The DRDO fuel cell aims to give endurance of up to 14 days to a conventional submarine.

Way to build Indian Submarines

India has been able to indigenously build conventional & nuclear-propelled submarines. However, the submarine designing is the area where India needs assistance from foreign OEMs.

A multi-disciplinary design team was trained for almost two years in Germany to acquire knowledge of HDW submarine design with access to relevant software, design data, empirical formulae, linked values of design coefficients and were considered capable of designing a conventional submarine. This team formed the back bone of Submarine Design Group (SDG) - a premier organisation of the Indian Navy.

Considering the issues with Project-75I where 3 of the foreign OEMs including Germany, Russia and France has pulled out of the competition, India must make conventional submarines by Collaborating between Directorate of Naval Design, MDL, L&T, DRDO and other major public and private companies and MSMEs that are working on India’s submarine projects. India should take consultancy from friendly countries like France as and when needed. In interim, the follow on order for 3 Scorpene class submarine with DRDO’s AIP system must be placed by Indian Navy.

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