St. Petersburg, July 2 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Russia will participate in a new tender for six diesel-electric submarines for the Indian Navy, the state-run exporter Rosoboronexport said.
Russia dropped out of the first Indian submarine tender in 2009.
‘There is a new tender, with the new requirements, and together with [Russia’s] Rubin design bureau we are making a proposal to India for Amur 650 class submarines,’ Oleg Azizov, spokesman for Rosoboronexport, told reporters at IMDS-2011 naval show in St. Petersburg Friday.
Azizov said that Amur class is a fourth-generation vessel, and ‘Russia has all chances to win the tender’.
The Indian Navy said in February it will announce a global tender by the end of 2011 for procuring six next-generation submarines worth about $11 billion.
India is building six Scorpene submarines the Mazgaon Dockyards Limited (MDL) under a deal with France’s DCNS. However, the Indian side said it would need submarines ‘with better stealth capability, improved detection range and combat management system.’
According to Indian sources, France, Germany and Spain will also participate in the tender.
The Indian Navy is planning to commission at least 12 submarines in the next decade to strengthen its depleted submarine fleet.
–IANS/RIA Novosti
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