Deal inked for upgrading 2 German-made submarines

NEW DELHI: Two diesel-electric submarines of German origin will now be armed with Harpoon missiles under a Rs 260 crore deal inked with Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems for the retrofitting of the new weapon suites aboard the vessels.
This forms part of the Rs 4,800 crore upgrade and life extension of four Sindhughosh-class (Russian-origin) submarines and two Shishumar-class (German) ones, which received approval from the government in August 2014.While the upgrade of two Sindhughosh-class submarines will take place in Russia, the other four are to be retrofitted at the Mazagon Docks and Naval Dockyard at Mumbai.
The Navy is down to just 13 ageing conventional submarines. The upgrade of the six submarines was approved due to the delay in the Rs 23,652 crore Scorpene project at MDL, under which the first of six French-origin submarines will now be delivered in December. The other five will follow at nine-month intervals till 2020.