Kalvari, the first ship of Scorpene class submarines being manufactured at Mazgaon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL), was set afloat in the Mumbai naval dockyard on Thursday, setting the stage for its sea trials, and eventual commissioning on schedule in Sept 2016.
The submarine mounted on a pontoon was moved out of submarine yard at the MDL on Tuesday, and it was set afloat in the naval dockyard on Thursday after a ceremony to mark the milestone.
“Unlike in ships where equipment installation takes a long time after launching, submarines are completely fitted out at the time of floating out. The boat is now slated to undergo rigorous harbour trials and tests which would certify each system to its fullest capacity. The trials at sea will start in a few months,” a naval spokesperson said.
Scorpene submarines are 67 meters long, 6.2 meters wide and have 1,550 tonnes displacement. The state-of-art features of the Scorpene include superior stealth and the ability to launch an attack on the enemy using precision guided weapons. The attack can be launched with torpedoes, as well as tube launched anti-ship missiles, underwater or on surface.
Designed to operate in all theatres including the Tropics, the submarines can undertake multifarious missions including anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, operations by special forces and mine laying etc.
The Mazagon Dock is presently constructing six Scorpene class submarines under Project 75 under transfer of technology from DCNS, France. Subsequent boats will be delivered at gaps of nine months from each other. All six are expected to be delivered by 2020.
