Indian shipbuilder Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) launched the fifth Indian Navy Scorpene submarine at its Mumbai yard on November 12.
The launch of INS Vagir follows the commissioning of the second unit in the class INS Khanderi in September 2019 and the launch of the INS Vela in May 2019.
India is building the Kalvari-class submarines under a transfer of technology agreement with French shipbuilder Naval Group from 2005.
“Naval Group is proud to be part of first of its kind P75 Kalvari program to deliver entirely ”Made in India” submarines to the Indian Navy. The P75 program is a major element of the strategic Indo-French partnership developed over the last decades,” Alain Guillou, Senior EVP – International Development at Naval Group, commented.
The diesel-electric attack submarines are 67.5 meters long and can deploy SUT heavyweight torpedoes or SM.39 Exocet anti-ship missiles. They have an endurance of 50 days and a range of 6,500 nautical miles. A total of six boats in the class are expected to be built.
