Mumba: A Scorpene-class submarine, INS Karanj, was commissioned into the Indian Navy in Mumbai on Wednesday. The ceremony was conducted in the presence of Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh and Admiral (Retired) VS Shekhawat.
Six submarines are to be inducted into the Navy under the Scorpene project. The contract for the construction and Transfer-of-Technology for six Scorpene submarines in series has Naval Group (formerly DCNS) of France as ‘Collaborator’ and are being built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) under the ‘Make In India’ programme.
Speaking on the occasion, Navy chief Admiral Karambir Singh said, "Indian Navy has been a strong proponent of indigenisation and self-reliance in defence over past 7 decades."
He said out of 42 ships and submarines on order at present, 40 are being constructed in Indian shipyards.
"The impetuous to atmanirbharta or indigenisation is a fundamental tenet of Indian Navy's growth story and future trajectory," he said.
Karanj is the third submarine of the ongoing Project-75 Scorpene programme. The fourth Scorpene, Vela, has commenced her sea trials, whilst the sixth and last, Vagsheer, is being readied for boot together.
In 2018, as the trials of Karanj were launched, the Navy had said that the state-of-the-art technology utilised for construction of the Scorpene class submarines has ensured superior stealth features such as advanced acoustic silencing techniques, low radiated noise levels, hydro-dynamically optimized shape, 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 this potent platform is enhanced by the special attention given to various signatures. These stealth features give it an invulnerability, unmatched by most submarines," it had said.
