India's First Indigenously Built Attack First Scorpene Submarine Launched Into Water
Indian Navy's first Scorpene class stealth submarine, Kalvari, on Monday was undocked at the Mazagon Docks Limited (MDL) in Mumbai.
The diesel-electric vessel INS Kalvari was built by Mazagon Dock Limited in collaboration with France’s DCNS, and it will now undergo sea trials before being formally handed over to the Navy in September next year.
The launch of the submarine was witnessed by Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral RK Dhowan and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, amongst others.
After the launch of the Kalvari, Parrikar called for the staff and workers present at the docks to help make the Indian Navy a true 'Blue water Navy', and urged the defence public sector yards to double their production in the coming three years.
The state-of-art features of the Scorpene include superior stealth and the ability to launch a crippling attack on the enemy using precision guided weapons. The attack can be launched with torpedoes, as well as tube launched anti-ship missiles, whilst underwater or on surface. The Stealth features give it invulnerability, unmatched by many submarines.
Christened 'Project 75', the Scorpenes have already seen a delay of almost 40 months. The submarine was first scheduled to be handed over in 2012.
Even though French blame the Indian side for the delay, Parrikar has said the delay is "mainly" due to difficulties in procuring material from foreign vendors.
Mazagon is expected to be one of the shipyards bidding for the P-75I project that calls for six more locally-built submarines.
Parrikar warned that if the project was not completed within the stipulated timeframe, the defaulting yard would have to pay a penalty. Early completion of the project, on the other hand, would be rewarded with a bonus, he said.
China's increasing undersea prowess has highlighted how much India is lagging behind with a rundown fleet. India's Navy currently has 13 ageing diesel-electric submarines, only half of which are operational at any given time due to refits. Ten of them are Russian Kilo class and four are German HDW class submarines which are getting aged.
To replace a nearly 30-year-old fleet hit by a run of accidents, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has ordered an accelerated tendering process to build six conventional diesel-electric submarines at an estimated cost of Rs. 50,000 crore ($8.1 billion), in addition to the Scorpenes that the French firm DCNS is assembling at the Mumbai port.
