Know All About Indian Navy’s Submarines

The Indian Navy currently operates 14 diesel electric submarine and 2 nuclear powered ones. But most of the fleet is three decades old.

The IN needs at least 24 submarines to meet its 30-year submarine-building plan, which was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security in 1999.

The current submarine fleet is based at two locations: Visakhapatnam on the east coast and Mumbai on the west coast.

Kalvari Class (Project 75)

Kalvari Class (Project 75) includes indigenous construction of six submarines of Scorpene design.

These submarines are being constructed at MDL Mumbai, under collaboration with M/s Naval Group, France under a transfer of technology (ToT) deal signed with France in October 2005 worth $3.75 Billion

India has already commissioned the first five vessels: INS Kalvari (2017), INS Khanderi (2019), INS Karanj (2021), INS Vela (2021), and INS Vagir (2023).

The sixth submarine of Project 75, Yard 11880 (Vaghsheer), Indian Navy’s Kalvari class has commenced the sea trials on 18 May 23.

Brief Specifications – Scorpene submarines can undertake multifarious types of missions i.e Anti-Surface warfare, Anti-Submarine warfare, Intelligence gathering, Mine Laying, Area Surveillance etc.

The Submarine is designed to operate in all theatres of operation, showcasing interoperability with other components of a Naval Task Force. It is a potent platform, marking a transformational shift in submarine operations.

Name       Pennant No.   Date of Commission

Vagir           S 25                  23 Jan 2023

Kalvari        S 21                   14 Dec 2017

Khanderi    S.22                  28 Sep 2019

Karanj        S 23                   10 Mar 2021

Vela           S 24                    25 Nov 2021

Sindhughosh Class

Sindhughosh class submarines are the Kilo class diesel-electric submarines. They are designated 877EKM, and were built under a contract between Rosvooruzhenie and the Ministry of Defence (India).

Brief Specifications – The submarines have a displacement of 3,000 tonnes, a maximum diving depth of 300 meters, top speed of 18 knots, and are able to operate solo for 45 days with a crew of 53.

Name              Pennant No   Date of Commission

Sindhugosh        S 55                 30 Apr 1986

Sindhuraj           S 57                   20 Oct 1987

Sindhuratna      S 59                  22 Dec 1988

Sindhukesari     S 60                  16 Feb 1989

Sindhukirti         S 61                   04 Jan 1990

Sindhuvijay        S 62                08 Mar 1991

Sindhushashtra S 65               19 Jul 2000

Shishumar Class

The Shishumar class vessels (Type 1500) are diesel-electric submarines.

These submarines are developed by the German yard Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW). 

The first two of these vessels were built by HDW at Kiel, while the remainder have been built at Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) Mumbai, under a technology transfer agreement

Brief Specifications: These submarines have a displacement of 1660 tons when surfaced, a speed of 22 knots (41 km/h), and a complement of 40 including eight officers.

Further, the submarines have the provision of an IKL-designed escape system.

Name             Pennant No.      Date of Commissioning

Shishumar         S 44                     22 Sep 1986

Shankush          S 45                     20 Nov 1986

Shalki                 S 46                    07 Feb 1992

Shankul             S 47                    28 May 1994

Arihant Class Submarines

The Arihant-class is a class of Indian nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines being built for the Indian Navy.

They were developed under the Rs 900 billion (US$11 billion) Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project to design and build nuclear-powered submarines. These vessels are classified as ‘strategic strike nuclear submarines’ by India.

The lead vessel of the class, INS Arihant was laid down in 2004, launched in 2009 and after extensive sea trials was confirmed to be commissioned in August 2016.

Arihant holds the distinction of being the first ballistic missile submarine to have been built by a country other than one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.

Name                          Pennant No.      Date of Commissioning

INS Arihant (S2)           SSBN 80              August 2016

INS Arighat (S1)           SSBN 81              August 2022

NOTE:-All Submarines are prefixed with letters ‘INS’ when being referred to by their Indian Navy designated Names

Source: https://indiannavy.nic.in/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_submarines_of_the_Indian_Navy