INS Kalavari: India's first home built submarine handed over to Indian Navy

India’s first ingenuously built INS Kalavari submarine was handed over to Indian Navy by state-owned Mazagon Dock Limited in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
This is Indian Navy’s first new conventional submarine in two decades. Its induction will be landmark milestone in India’s bid to build its underwater warfare capabilities with an eye on China and Pakistan.

Key Facts

INS Kalavari is first of six Scorpion class submarines built in India under Project-75 by Mazagon Docks Limited with technology transfer from France’s DCNS (Direction des Constructions Navales Services), a naval shipbuilder.
It is diesel electric attack submarine named after tiger shark. It is stealth submarine difficult to be detected by the enemy and is designed to operate in all theatres including the tropics. It weighs 1,550 tonnes and is equipped with six 533-millimeter torpedo tubes for launching anti-ship torpedoes, anti-ship missiles, and sea mines.
It can undertake various operations including multifarious warfare, Anti-submarine warfare, Intelligence gathering, mine laying, area surveillance etc. It can launch attack on the enemy using precision guided weapons and attack can be launched from underwater or on surface. It can launch attack on the enemy using precision guided weapons and attack can be launched from underwater or on surface.

Background

France’s DCNS was awarded $4.16 billion contract to build six next generation Scorpion class submarines in cooperation with Mazagon Docks Limited in 2005 under the strategic Project-75. All six submarines will be fitted with indigenous Air Independent Propulsion System (AIP) technology developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to extend their endurance.  AIP module enables conventional submarines to remain underwater for longer duration, greatly increasing their stealth characteristics. The second Scorpene submarine in the series, INS Khanderi was launched in January 2017 after the ghost of data leak which threatened to derail project in August 2016.

Scorpene data leak

The Scorpene data leak saw 22,400 documents expose secret stealth capabilities of submarines, diving depths, and specifications of torpedo launch systems among other details. A preliminary investigation later revealed the leak took place at the French office of DCNS and not in India.

Month: Current Affairs - September, 2017