Watch: PM Modi ‘Dedicates’ Submarine INS Kalvari to the Nation

The state-of-the-art features of the Scorpenes include superior stealth and ability to launch crippling attacks on the enemy with precision-guided weapons.

(Photo: IANS)

The INS Kalvari, the first of the indigenous Scorpene-class submarines, was commissioned in the Indian Navy on Thursday, 14 December. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and other dignitaries attended the event, which comes days after the Navy observed the golden jubilee of its submarine wing.

The submarine is named after the first Foxtrot-class submarine –the INS Kalvari that was inducted into the Navy on 8 December 196.

The INS Kalvari is a diesel-electric submarine with a weight of 1,565-tonnes. It has a speed of 20 knots and is equipped with the SM-39 Exocet missiles and wire-guided surface and underwater torpedoes that enable it to carry out crippling attacks on enemies with precision. The submarine is loaded with combat features.

(Photo: ANI)

(Photo: ANI)

(Photo: ANI)

INS Kalvari will be followed by five other submarines under India's Rs 23,652 crore 'Project-75’ in collaboration with France, which will be the outcome of a contract with French shipbuilder DCNS that was signed in 2005.

The INS Kalvari was due in 2012, while the other five scorpene-class submarines were due in 2017. Owing to the delay, now all six submarines will be inducted somewhere around 2020-2021. When asked about the delay, Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba told The Times Of India: "We are hopeful of beginning the project by end-2018."

The Scorpene-class submarines are being built by the Mazagaon Dockyard Limited in Mumbai under Project 75 with transfer of technology from a foreign collaborator – DCNS of France.

The second Scorpene submarine, INS Khanderi, is presently undergoing trials and is likely to be inducted into the Navy soon.

(With inputs from IANS.)

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