Project – 75

The main objective of Project – 75 was to acquire 24 submarines. The project was approved by the Ministry of Defence in 1997.

History of Project – 75

In 1998, India started negotiating with DCN. DCN is Direction des Constructions, a French defence contractor. India negotiated four Scorpene class submarines with DCN. Of these two were to be built in Mazagon Dock Limited.

Project – 75 upgraded after Kargil War

After Kargil war in 1999, the Indian Government approved a 30-year submarine plan. The Project – 75 was brought under this new plan. Under the new plan, two parallel production lines of the submarines were called for. One was under the already running Project – 75 and the other was under Project – 75I (Project – 75 India).

Construction of Six Submarines

In 2005, under Project – 75, India signed a transfer of technology contract with the French. Under this contract six submarines were to be constructed at the Mazagon Dock Limited. These submarines were to be delivered by 2012. The Scorpene class submarine was selected because of its capability to fire anti-ship missiles and air-independent propulsion.

Delivery of the submarines

• INS Kalvari was the first submarine delivered under Project – 75. It was delivered in 2015.
• INS Khanderi was the second submarine. It was commissioned in 2019.
• INS Karanj was the third submarine. It was commissioned in March 2021.
• INS Vela was the fourth submarine. It was commissioned in November 2021.
• INS Vagir is the fifth submarine.
• INS Vasgheer is the sixth submarine.

Technical details

All the six submarines built under Project – 75 are Scorpene class (French name) or Kalvari class (Indian name). They are diesel – electric attack submarines. The cost of one submarine is 450 million USD. They are attack submarines. Attack submarines are those submarines that are designed for the purpose of sinking and attacking other submarines. These submarines are equipped with torpedo tubes. It can reach a maximum speed of 11 knots, that is, 20 km/hr when submerged. The range of the submarine is 12,000 kilometres. The engines of the submarine are powered by four diesel engines and 360 battery cells. The weapons of the submarine are integrated with its SUBTICS (Submarine Tactical Integrated Combat System). The submarine has a sonar system that is capable of LOFAR (Low Frequency Analysis and Ranging).