The fifth submarine of Project 75 to build Kalvari class diesel-electric attack submarines, Yard 11879, which when commissioned will be christened INS Vagir, was delivered to the Indian Navy Tuesday.
Project 75 includes the indigenous construction of six submarines based on the Scorpene-class developed by the French defence major, Naval Group (formerly DCNS), and Spanish state-owned entity Navantia. These submarines are being constructed at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) Mumbai, in collaboration with Naval Group.
Launched on November 12, 2020, ‘Vagir’ commenced the sea trials on February 1, 2022, and has completed all major trials including the weapon and sensor trials in the shortest time in comparison to the earlier submarines, officials said. The submarine would shortly be commissioned into the Indian Navy.
Other submarines of the Kalvari class are INS Kalvari, INS Khanderi, INS Karanj, and INS Vela which have already been commissioned into the Navy and INS Vagsheer, which was launched in April earlier this year. This class of submarines have Diesel Electric transmission systems and are attack submarines also known as the ‘hunter-killer’ type, which means they are designed to target and sink adversary naval vessels.
The Kalvari-class submarines have the capability of operating in a wide range of Naval combat including anti-warship and anti-submarine operations, intelligence gathering and surveillance, and naval mine laying. These submarines are around 220 feet long and have a height of 40 feet. The submarines can reach the highest speeds of 11 knots when surfaced and 20 knots when submerged.
The submarines in the current Kalvari-class take their names from now-decommissioned classes of submarines – like Kalvari class that included Kalvari, Khanderi and Karanj, and Vela class that included Vela, Vagir, and Vagsheer. The now-decommissioned Kalvari and Vela classes were one of the earliest submarines in the post-Independent period and belonged to the Soviet-origin Foxtrot class of vessels.
This class of submarines have Diesel Electric transmission systems and are attack submarines also known as the ‘hunter-killer’ type.
Kalvari has been named after a tiger shark, Vagir and Vagsheer after a deadly deep-sea predator sandfish of the Indian Ocean, and Vela after a stingray species. Khanderi has been named after an island fort built by Chhatrapati Shivaji, which played a key role in his Navy, and Karanj after an island located south of Mumbai.
