India has added third Scorpene-class submarine to its Naval fleet. Indian Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba’s wife Reena Lanba launched the submarine Karanj, which has been constructed by shipbuilder Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) in Mumbai on Wednesday.
“It (submarine) will undergo rigorous tests for the next one year before it is commissioned,” Admiral Lanba said on the occasion.
Total six submarines are going to be built at the MDL. The submarines are being built in collaboration with French shipbuilding major Naval Group (formerly DCNS). Prime Minister Narendra Modi has last month commissioned the first of the six Scorpene-class submarine Kalvari into the Indian Navy and said its induction was a big step in the country’s defence preparedness.
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had then said that submarine building is a sophisticated and exacting craft which very few countries possess in their industrial capacity.
Here are 10 things you need to know about INS Karanj
1. INS Karanj is third indigenously-built diesel-electric attack submarine after INS Kalvari and INS Khandari.
2. The previous INS Karanj had served the nation for 34 years from 1969 to 2003 and had also participated in the 1971 war.
3. Scorpene-class submarine Karanj is loaded with superior stealth features such as advanced acoustic silencing techniques, low radiated noise levels, hydro-dynamically optimised shape and the ability to launch a crippling attack on the enemy using precision guided weapons.
4. The attack by INS Karanj can be launched with both torpedoes and tube launched anti-ship missiles, whilst underwater or on surface.
5. The stealth of this potent platform is enhanced by the special attention given to various signatures. These stealth features give it invulnerability, unmatched by most submarines.
6. Scorpene submarines can undertake a wide range of missions such as anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine-laying and area surveillance.
7. The INS Karanj submarine is designed to operate in all theatres, with means provided to ensure inter-operability with other components of a Naval Task Force.
8. The Scorpene deal was signed for India in October 2015 and the first submarine was due to be delivered by 2012.
9. Last year, INS Kalvari, the first Scorpene class submarine was commissioned into the Indian Navy, at a ceremony on 14 December, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
10. Khanderi, the second Scorpene class submarine was launched in January 2017, and is currently undergoing the rigorous phase of sea trials and is also scheduled to be delivered shortly.
