Fifth Scorpene submarine delivered to Indian Navy

The fifth Scorpene-class submarine Vagir - which was built at the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) in Mumbai - was delivered to the Indian Navy on Tuesday.

The Acceptance Document was signed by Vice Admiral Narayan Prasad, Chairman & Managing Director, MDL and Rear Admiral C Raghuram, Chief Staff Officer (Technical), Western Naval Command in the presence of Commanding Officer (Designate) Commander S Divakar and senior officials of MDL and Indian Navy.

Vagir was launched on November 12, 2020 and has undergone a very comprehensive and rigorous set of tests and trials, for more than a year, to ensure delivery of a fully combat worthy submarine, capable of operation in all modes and regimes of deployment.

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Vagir or Yard 11879 is the fifth submarine of Project 75, which involves the Scorpene or the Kalvari-class involves construction of six diesel-electric attack submarines by the Mumbai-based Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd with French collaboration.

Vagir is expected to be commissioned soon.

Four submarines of this class - INS Kalvari, INS Khanderi, INS Karanj and INS Vela had been commissioned.

The sixth Scorpene submarine - Vaghsheer was launched on April 20, 2022 and is getting readied for trials.

Speaking on the occasion, Admiral Prasad said that with the delivery of Vagir, India further cements its position as a submarine building nation and that MDL has lived up to its reputation as one of India’s leading shipyards with capacity and capability to meet requirements and aspirations of the Indian Navy in all dimensions.

The CMD further mentioned that the building of Scorpene has been challenging due to all work being done in the most congested of spaces dovetailed by the stringent clearances and tolerances which were required to be achieved and maintained throughout the period of construction. These challenges were, however, met head-on and successfully overcome by MDL, without any compromise in quality and performance.

The state-of-the-art technology utilised in the Scorpene has ensured superior stealth features (such as advanced acoustic absorption techniques, low radiated noise levels, hydro-dynamically optimised shape etc) 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, whilst underwater or on surface. The stealth of the potent platform is enhanced by the special attention provided to her characteristic underwater signatures. These stealth features give it an invulnerability, unmatched by most submarines.