INDIA. Mumbai: A sea trial of the sixth Scorpene Submarine, “Vaghsheer”, of project 75 of the Indian Navy began at Mazagon Docks Limited (MDL) in South Mumbai on Thursday.
According to an officials, the Scorpene submarine will now undertake extensive sea trials of all its systems, including propulsion systems, weapons, and sensors.
The “Kalvari” class submarine was launched on April 20, 2022, from the Kanhoji Angre Wet Basin of MDL. The submarine is scheduled for delivery to the Indian Navy early next year after completion of the sea trials.
Three indigenously made submarines- “INS Kalavari”, “INS Khanderi” and “INS Kharanj” of Project 75 have already been commissioned into the Indian Navy in a short span, and the commencement of sea trials of the sixth submarine is a significant milestone and indicative of the boost towards “AatmaNirbharBharat” (self-reliant India), the statement read.
The first submarine under Project 75-Kalavari was delivered in 2015 and joined the service in December 2017. Within two years, in September 2019, “INS Khanderi”, the second submarine of the project, was deployed.
The third submarine, “INS Karanj”, was inducted in March 2021. “INS Vela”, the fourth submarine under Project 75, joined the fleet in November 2021. The fifth submarine, “INS Vagir,” was commissioned on January 23.
“INS Vagsheer” is a reincarnation of the original “Vagsheer,” which was decommissioned in April 1997. It is named after a fatal deep-sea hunter in the Indian Ocean.
The submarines built under Project 75 are conventional diesel-electric fuelled Scorpene-class attack submarines. These are meant to be the most modern conventional submarines.
In 1998, India negotiated a contract with French defence contractors- Direction des Constructions Navales (formerly Direction des Chantiers Navals) (DCNS) to manufacture four Scorpene-class attack submarines.
However, in 1999, after the end of the Kargil War, the Government of India devised and approved a new plan which paved the way for Project 75.
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