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INS Vela, the fourth scopene submarine to be inducted by year end

SOURCE : The Hindu

INS Vela, the fourth scopene submarine to be inducted by year end
Image Credit : DefPost





The fourth Scorpene diesel-electric submarine INS Vela is going to be inducted into the Navy by the year-end while Vagsheer, the sixth and last Scorpene submarine which is under development, is required to be dispatched into water for sea trials by year-end, as indicated by a source familiar with the development. 

Vela was dispatched into the water in May 2019 and was going through cutting edge phases of sea trials while Vagsheer is in advanced stages of construction. The Navy has commissioned the third Scorpene submarine INS Karanj into the fleet a week ago. With this, the Navy has 15 diesel electric and two atomic submarines in its flotilla, which consists of eight Russian Kilo-class, four German HDW, and three Scorpenes. The atomic submarines consists of Russian hunter killer on lease SSN INS Chakra and the swadeshi ballistic missile submarine SSBN INS Arihant. 

Last October, India sold INS Sindhuvir, a Kilo-class submarine to the Myanmar Navy, which became its first submarine. 

Six Scorpene submarines are being manufactured under Project-75 by the Mazgaon Dock Limited (MDL), Mumbai under the transfer of technology from the Naval Group of France under a $3.75-billion arrangement inked in October 2005. But, the program has been postponed by four years because of development issues. 

The 1st submarine of the class INS Kalvari was inducted in December 2017 and the second, INS Khanderi, joined the Navy in September 2019. The fifth, INS Vagir, was moved out of MDL yard in November 2020 and is going through ocean trails. 

The Navy has plans to introduce swadeshi Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) modules on all Scorpene submarines as they go for their refit starting with INS Kalvari in 2023 to improve their long range endurance. The Scorpene-class is the Navy's first modern diesel electric boats after almost twenty years since INS Sindhushastra which was bought from Russia in July 2000. 

The Navy is at final phases of giving the Request For Proposal (RFP) for the acquisition of six highly sophisticated diesel electric submarines under Project-75I. The case is said to be taken up by the Defense Acquisition Council (DAC) soon.

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