In a decision of great impact, a top German security panel headed by Chancellor Angela Merkel has turned down Pakistan’s request for supply of air-independent propulsion (AIP) systems for its submarines, the Hindustan Times reported.
The AIP allows submarines to stay underwater for weeks, and without that Pakistan’s diesel submarines will have surface almost every second day to capture atmospheric air.
This important decision taken by the German Federal Security Council headed by Chancellor Merkel is set to be advantage India. The news of the refusal to sell AIP was conveyed to the Pakistan embassy on August 6, the report said quoting people aware of the development on conditions of anonymity.
The air-independent propulsion system gives diesel eclectic submarine the ability to recharge submarine batteries without having to surface for longer periods. Submarines attack by stealth and if the Pakistan Navy had acquired this technology it would have been a force multiplier for them and a strategic and tactical threat for the Indian Navy.
Unlike nuclear submarines which only has to resurface for supplies, AIP gives conventional submarines to remain underwater for a very long time without being detected. The submarine is also seen as an important platform to collect intelligence.
An Indian official said Germany’s refusal to help Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government with this technology would “adversely impact its lethality and vulnerability”.
India has been trying to develop its AIP and this effort is being spearheaded by the Defence Research and Development Organisation. In 2019, India successfully tested a land-based prototype that New Delhi had then declared would have a “force multiplier effect on the lethality of a diesel-electric submarine”.
Another reason for the refusal to sell the AIP to Pakistan by Germany is its support and promotion of Islamic terror and the failure to cooperate in identifying the terrorists who detonated a truck bomb on the Germany Embassy in Kabul in May 2017.
Nearly 150 people were killed in the bombing and this attack is counted among the deadliest terror strikes in recent years. The attack was linked to the dreaded Haqqani Network supported by Pakistan deep state.