Defence > Sea > Indian Navy Defence ministry issues RFP for construction of six conventional submarines 23 July 2021 The ministry of defence (MoD) has issued Request of Proposal (RFP) for construction of six fuel cell-based Air Independent Propulsion Plant (AIP) fitted conventional submarines for the Indian Navy, the first acquisition programme under the Strategic Partnership Model. The RFP was issued to shortlisted strategic partners, ie, Indian applicant companies for the project - Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) and Larsen & Tubro (L&T). The project, called ‘Project 75 (India) [P-75(I)]’ is estimated to cot over Rs40,000 crore. Project-75(I) envisages indigenous construction of six modern conventional submarines (including associated shore support, engineering support package, training and spares package) with contemporary equipment, weapons and sensors including fuel-cell based AIP (Air Independent Propulsion Plant), advanced torpedoes, modern missiles and state of the art countermeasure systems. This would provide a major boost to the indigenous design and construction capability of submarines in India, in addition to bringing in the latest submarine design and technologies as part of the project.