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Sixth submarine of Kalvari-class launched; enters service in 2 yrs
Kalvari-class diesel-electric attack submarines have been constructed with technology transfer from French firm Naval Group under a ₹23,562-crore programme called Project 75, and four of them have already been commissioned into the navy. A fifth submarine, Vagir, is currently undergoing sea trials.
Vagsheer, the navy’s sixth and last Kalvari-class submarine built in India with French help, was on Wednesday launched at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) in Mumbai, with its proposed induction into the Indian Navy in two years set to further bolster the country’s underwater capabilities, officials familiar with the development said.
A submarine or a ship’s launch marks a significant milestone in its construction and refers to the vessel entering the water for the first time. Defence secretary Dr Ajay Kumar was the chief guest at the launch ceremony of the Vagsheer, along with senior naval officers including Vice Chief of the Naval Staff Vice Admiral SN Ghormade and Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command Vice Admiral AB Singh.
Kalvari-class diesel-electric attack submarines have been constructed with technology transfer from French firm Naval Group under a ₹23,562-crore programme called Project 75, and four of them have already been commissioned into the navy. A fifth submarine, Vagir, is currently undergoing sea trials.
These conventional submarines are capable of a raft of missions including anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, long-range strikes, special operations and intelligence gathering, the officials said.
“MDL teams will now have to complete the integration and setting to work of the equipment and machinery onboard (Vagsheer) before beginning the sea trials, including weapon and sensor trials,” the Naval Group said in a statement.
Crews will sail the submarine for rigorous sea acceptance trials, following which Vagsheer will be delivered to the navy by late next year, the Indian Navy said in a statement. Both Vagir and Vagsheer will be commissioned into the navy over the next two years, officials familiar with the matter said.
Alain Guillou, executive vice president, international development, Naval Group, said, “We are proud of this cooperation with MDL and we stand by their side and are ready to assist for future projects. We celebrate the success of ‘Make in India’ while moving towards a true sense of ‘aatmanirbhar’ [self-reliance] naval defence industry.”
India is focussed on strengthening its capabilities amid changing power dynamics in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) where the Chinese People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLAN) is seeking to increase its footprint, officials familiar with the matter said.
India is also pursuing a project (P-75I) worth ₹40,000 crore to build six more advanced submarines in the country under the government’s strategic partnership model to bolster the navy’s underwater firepower and counter the rapid expansion of China’s submarine fleet.
The Indian strategic partners cleared to collaborate with the foreign players are MDL and Larsen & Toubro (L&T). The foreign yards they can team up with are France’s Naval Group, German conglomerate Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems, Russia’s Rubin Design Bureau, Spain’s Navantia and South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Company.
Last November, defence minister Rajnath Singh commissioned the indigenous stealth guided missile destroyer Visakhapatnam in Mumbai. Visakhapatnam is the first warship of the navy’s Project-15B under which three more warships will be delivered by 2025.
The navy’s latest frigate, Tushil, was launched at the Yantar Shipyard in Kaliningrad in October 2021, with Russia preparing to deliver two new warships to India in 2023.
Tushil is part of an over $2.5-billion deal with Russia for four more Krivak/Talwar class stealth frigates for the Indian Navy, two of which are being constructed at the Yantar Shipyard and the remaining two will be built at the Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) with technology transfer from Russia, which is India’s top arms supplier. Tushil is expected to be commissioned into the Indian Navy in mid-2023 followed by its sister ship by 2023-end. GSL is expected to deliver the two frigates by 2026-27.
These deadlines, however, predate the Russia-Ukraine war. The sanctions slapped on Russia by the United States and its allies on the back of the Ukraine war have raised questions about the fate of new projects, the procurement of spares for existing Russian-origin weapons, as well as maintenance and servicing of legacy equipment and creating an alternative payment system for defence trade with Russia amid the banking sanctions.
