INS Vagsheer, the last of six indigenously made Scorpene-class submarines, launched!

Mumbai, April 21: The sixth Scorpene class submarine,INS Vagsheer, constructed by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited for the Indian Navy, was launched in Mumbai. INS Vagsheer will now undergo rigorous trials and tests, both in harbour and at sea before it is commissioned into the Navy. It is the sixth and last submarine of the Indian Navy’s Kalvari class submarines of Project 75.

 

 

These submarines are being constructed at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) Mumbai, under collaboration with Naval Group, France. The submarine was launched by Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar.

 

The first of the Project - 75 submarines, INS Kalvari, was commissioned into the Indian Navy in the year 2017 and presently four submarines of this Project are in commission in the Indian Navy. The fifth submarine is progressing with the Sea Trials and is likely to be delivered this year.

 

 

 

The sixth submarine will now commence setting to work on various equipment and their harbour trials. The crew will thereafter sail the submarine for the rigorous Sea Acceptance Trials after which the submarine would be delivered to the Indian Navy by late next year.

 

 

Named after sandfish, a deadly deep water sea predator of the Indian Ocean, the first submarine 'Vagsheer' was commissioned in December 1974. It was decommissioned in April 1997. The new submarine is the latest incarnation of its earlier version, as according to naval parlance a ship never ceases to exist.

 

 

Scorpene-class submarines can undertake multifarious missions such as anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine laying, area surveillance, etc. The submarine is designed to operate in all theatres, with means provided to ensure interoperability with other components of a naval task force. It is a strong platform, marking a generational shift in submarine operations.

 

 

The state-of- the-art technology utilised for construction of Scorpene-class submarines has ensured superior stealth features, such as advanced acoustic silencing techniques, low radiated noise levels, hydro-dynamically optimised shape, and the ability to launch a crippling attack on the enemy using precision guided weapons. The attack can be launched with both torpedoes and tube-launched anti-ship missiles at the same time, underwater or on surface.

 

The first submarine, INS Kalvari, was launched in October 2015 and was commissioned in December 2017. The second, INS Khanderi, was launched in January 2017 for sea trials and commissioned in September 2019; the third INS Karanj was launched in January 2018 and after two years of sea trials she was commissioned in the Indian Navy on March 10, 2021. The fourth submarine, INS Vela, was launched in May 2019 and handed over to the Indian Navy in November 2021. The fifth, INS Vagir, was launched in November 2020 and has commenced her harbour trials.