The Indian Navy may decommission up to three more Project 877EKM diesel-electric submarines within the next five years. These submarines are an export version of the Soviet Project 877 "Paltus". If replacements are not found in time, the number of these submarines remaining in India could decrease from six to three. This is reported by the Indian publication IDRW.
The history of these submarines in India began in the 1980s. New Delhi signed an agreement with the Soviet Union for the supply of Project 877EKM ships, after which their number was increased to ten. In the Indian fleet, they were named the Sindhughosh class. The first such submarine, INS Sindhughosh, entered service with the Indian Navy in 1986, and the last, INS Sindhushastra, in 2000.
Today, the Indian fleet continues to operate the remaining ships, but age is gradually becoming the main problem. The reasons cited are the age of the ships and the rising costs of their life extension programs.
For the Indian submarine fleet, this means a significant reduction. If all three ships are indeed decommissioned, only three of the current six Project 877EKM submarines will remain.
Despite their age, the Indian "Paltus" submarines do not remain in their original state. Some of the ships have undergone repairs and modernization, during which individual systems and weapons were updated. The Indian fleet has also carried out life extension programs for the most promising ships of the class.
However, the modernization of electronics and weapons does not solve the problem of the ship's age itself. Therefore, the issue of replacing old submarines with new ones is becoming increasingly urgent for India.