Navy inducts third Scorpene submarine Karanj

It’s part of six being built under Project-75 by Mazagon Dock Limited

Indian Navy officers on board during the commissioning ceremony of P-75 INS Karanj submarine into the Indian Navy, in Mumbai on Wednesday, March 10, 2021.

The Navy on Wednesday inducted the third Scorpene-class conventional diesel-electric submarine , INS Karanj, into service.

It was commissioned into the Navy by former Navy Chief Admiral V.S. Shekhawat, who was the Commanding Officer of the earlier INS Karanj in the 1971 India-Pakistan War, a Navy statement said.

Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh poses for a group photograph with Indian Navy officers during the commissioning ceremony of P-75 INS Karanj submarine into the Indian Navy.

 

Six Scorpene submarines are being built under Project-75 by Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL), Mumbai, under technology transfer from Naval Group of France, as part of a $3.75 billion deal signed in October 2005. However, the programme has been hit by four-year delays in construction.

The first submarine of the class, INS Kalvari, was commissioned in December 2017 and the second, INS Khanderi, in September 2019. The fourth, Vela , was launched into the water in May 2019 and the fifth, Vagir , in November 2020, and both are undergoing sea trials. The sixth is in an advanced stage of outfitting.

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Special invitees

Crew of the erstwhile Karanj, a Russian origin Foxtrot class submarine that was decommissioned in 2003, were special invitees for the ceremony, the Navy said.

Year 2021 is being celebrated as the ‘Swarnim Vijay Varsh’ to mark 50 years of the 1971 India–Pakistan war. The old Karanj, commissioned on September 4, 1969, at Riga in the erstwhile USSR, also took active part in the conflict under the command of then Cdr Shekhawat.

In recognition of the valiant action of her officers and crew, a number of personnel were decorated, including the award of Vir Chakra to then Commanding Officer Cdr Shekhawat, the Navy stated.

Interestingly, the commissioning Commanding Officer of the old Karanj, Cdr MNR Samant, later became the first Chief of the Naval Staff of the newly formed Bangladesh Navy in 1971.

Installation of AIP modules

As reported by The Hindu earlier, the Navy is looking to install Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) modules on all the Scorpene submarines to enhance endurance. The initial plan to install the AIP plugs on the last two submarines during manufacture did not fructify as the indigenous module from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) got delayed.

On Tuesday, the DRDO announced that the indigenous module had crossed an important milestone in performance and “reached the stage of maturity for fitment into target vessels.”

The plan is to install the modules on all Scorpene submarines as they go for their refit. Kalvari is scheduled for normal refit in 2023.

The Scorpene class is the Navy’s first modern conventional submarine series in almost two decades since INS Sindhushastra, procured from Russia in July 2000.