Indian Navy’s Scorpene Submarines: India has hit another step in its defence self-reliance journey. Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited, working with the Indian Navy, has moved the main batteries for the Navy’s Scorpene-class submarines from imported German parts to batteries made in India by Exide Industries. Official MDL material says the earlier source was Hagen Batteries, Germany, and the new source is Exide Industries Ltd., Mumbai. Exide’s own annual report also says it makes submarine batteries and had won the first contract for the indigenous Scorpene class submarine battery.
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How the change happened?
For the first three Scorpene submarines, the Navy used batteries brought in from Germany. After that, MDL started placing orders with Exide for the battery systems from the fourth submarine onward. These submarines are part of Project-75 and were built at MDL with France’s Naval Group. The shift to Indian-made batteries is a big deal because submarine batteries are one of the most sensitive and important parts of a diesel-electric submarine. They help power the boat when it is underwater and cannot use normal air-breathing engines.
A Scorpene submarine depends on a large battery bank for quiet underwater travel. PIB’s note on INS Kalvari says the boat has 360 battery cells, and those cells power the submarine’s very silent propulsion motor. If the batteries are strong and reliable, the submarine can stay hidden better, run longer, and work more safely during long patrols.
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More room for Indian technology
This battery change also fits into India’s bigger defence plan. The Navy is exploring Air Independent Propulsion options for submarines, and MDL has also spoken about indigenous lithium-ion battery development for submarines in its own material. That means the work on Scorpene batteries may help open the door for newer underwater power systems in the future. India is trying to reduce dependence on foreign suppliers and build more of its submarine systems at home, piece by piece.
