ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, a naval defense manufacturer headquartered in Kiel, Germany, is close to signing an $8 billion deal to build six next-generation conventional submarines for the Indian Navy under a program known as Project 75I. Jasper Wieck, Germany’s Ambassador to India, said the deal is finalized on Germany’s side and awaits approval from India’s Cabinet Committee on Security.
“We can sign it any time as everything has been cleared from the German side. But India’s CCS (Cabinet Committee on Security) has to give final approval. We are waiting for that,” Wieck told Deccan Herald. Speaking to Business Standard, he put it more simply: “From the German side, we should sign tomorrow.”
The submarines would be built in India with Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, the state-owned Indian shipyard partnering with ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems on the program.
Wieck linked the submarine deal to a broader push to deepen India-Germany business ties. He pointed to an India-European Union free trade agreement expected by the end of 2026, a goal to double India-Germany bilateral trade beyond its current $51 billion, and an increase in Germany’s skilled-worker visas for Indian nationals from 60,000 to 80,000 a year. He named unmanned systems, cyber capabilities, missile technology and sensors as further areas for cooperation.
Why this matters: A German defense manufacturer’s willingness to build submarines in India, alongside a widening set of trade and immigration commitments, is a signal to friendly countries that India’s defense sector is opening further to foreign partners who are prepared to build locally rather than simply export finished equipment. Here in California, General Atomics already has a multi-billion dollar deal to assemble its MQ9 armed drones at Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd in Bangalore.
