According to a PR published by Naval Group on January 23, 2023, INS Vagir, the fifth P75 Kalvari-class submarines, was commissioned within the Indian Navy in presence of the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral R Hari Kumar, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC, and several other senior dignitaries. INS Vagir is built by Indian shipyard Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) based on the Naval Group Scorpene® design.
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Kalvari class (Scorpene class) submarine INS Vagir. (Picture source: Indian MoD)
Launched on 12 November 2020, INS Vagir successfully completed all her sea trials and now enters into service within the Indian Navy. She will join INS Kalvari, INS Khanderi, INS Karanj, and INS Vela which had already been commissioned respectively in December 2017, September 2019, March 2021, and November 2021. The last submarine of the P75 series, the Vagsheer, is currently completing her sea trials in order to be delivered in 2024.
The commissioning of INS Vagir highlights the success of indigenous submarines construction programme of the Government of India. This submarine has been completely built by MDL having successfully absorbed the technology transfer from Naval Group, in line with Indian Government’s “Make in India” policy.
The series of six submarines of the P75 program is fitted with a number of equipment built in India by qualified and highly trained industrial Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
MDL and Naval Group have developed a rich industrial ecosystem of more than 50 Indian companies, along with an Indian subsidiary with more than 70 Indian engineers to support Indian Navy, thus contributing to industrial and technological sovereignty.
Such cooperation allows Naval Group’s industrial partners to have access to new markets by putting forward the know-how and experience acquired through the program. Naval Group thus contributes to the development of a robust Indian naval industrial ecosystem.
The Scorpene®, a modern, high-performant, and stealthy submarine
The Scorpene® is a 2000 tons conventional-propulsion submarine designed and developed by Naval Group for all types of mission, such as surface vessel warfare, anti-submarine warfare, long-range strikes, special operations or intelligence gathering.
Extremely stealthy and fast, it has a level of operating automation that allows a limited number of crew, which reduces its operating costs significantly. Its combat edge is highlighted by the fact that it has 6 weapon launching tubes and 18 weapons (torpedoes, missiles).
The Kalvari class submarines are 67.5 meters long, with a width of 6.2 meters and a draft of 5.8 meters. They have a displacement of 1,615 tons when surfaced and 1,775 tons when submerged.
They can reach a top speed of 11 knots (20 km/h) when surfaced and 37 km/h when submerged. They have a range of 6,500 nautical miles (12,000 km) at a speed of 8 knots (15 km/h) when surfaced and a range of 550 nautical miles (1,020 km) at 4 knots (7 km/h) when submerged.
They are equipped with six 533 mm torpedo tubes and can carry 18 torpedoes or anti-ship missiles. They also have a crew of 35 sailors. They have been designed with stealth features such as advanced acoustic silencing techniques, low radiated noise levels, and hydro-dynamically optimized shape.
