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the era of nuclear propulsion in 1998 with the induction of a Charlie INS Sindhurakshak was rocked by an explosion [ COLUMN ]
class SSGN (SS - “Submarine” G - “Guided Missile” N - “Nuclear”) followed by a major fire on the night of August
which was named INS Chakra. 14, 2013 while berthed at the Naval Dockyard,
Mumbai resulting in the death of three officers
Scorpene Programme and 15 sailors. Kilo Class submarines have a
Production of six Scorpene submarines under Project-75 continues displacement of 3,000 tonnes, a maximum
with Indian shipyard MDL under collaboration with Naval Group, diving depth of 300 meters, top speed of 18
France. Three Scorpene submarines INS Kalvari, INS Khanderi knots, and are able to operate solo for 45 days
and INS Karanj are now in service, with the former entering ser- with a crew of 53.
vice in December 2017 and the latter in March 2021. The fourth
Scorpene, Vela, has commenced her sea trials, whilst the sixth and The Indian Navy also operates four
last submarine, Vagsheer, is being readied for boot together. The Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) Type
Scorpene project has taken longer than originally envisaged and 1500 diesel-electric submarines known as the
the MoD informed Parliament in March, that the delays were due ‘Shishumar’ Class which were commissioned
to the various defects observed during the trials of the submarines, into service between 1986 and 1984. The
requirement of certain modifications and delays in the supply of construction of the first two submarines (INS
items required for construction by Naval Group. The Covid-19 pan- Shishumar and INS Shankush) took place at
demic further impacted the delivery schedule of the submarines. the HDW shipyard (now thyssenkrupp Marine
Systems) in Kiel, Germany, including an inten-
sive training of MDL employees enabling the
construction of the INS Shalki and the INS
Shalkul at the MDL dockyard in Mumbai. 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 offi-
cers. The Shishumar class is based on the
HDW Type 209 but includes a changes such
as a larger diameter pressure hull, a pressure
resistant bulkhead, as well as a rescue sphere.
Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems received a
INR4.1 billion contract in September 2018
for the Medium Refit and Life Certification
(MRLC) for the overhaul and modernization of
INS Shishumar. MDL is undertaking the refit
of INS Shishumar at its dockyard in Mumbai,
Ageing Submarine Fleet with work due for completion this year keeping
Apart from the Scorpene’s the Indian Navy is presently operating the submarine operational for another decade.
an ageing fleet of nine 877 EKM ‘Kilo’ Class submarines. Eight The German firm also received contracts in
of the Russian submarines were commissioned between 1986 2016 to upgrade Shishumar Class subma-
and 1991, while two more were acquired between 1998 and 2000. rines INS Shalki and the INS Shalkul with the
Presently only eight of these submarines are operational and INS Harpoon missile system. ATLAS ELEKTRONIK,
Sindhudhvaj, the second submarine to be commissioned is to be an Operating Unit of thyssenkrupp Marine
retired from service this year. INS Sindhuvir was transferred to Systems had also received contracts in 2017
the Myanmar Navy in 2020 and INS Sindhurakshak was lost in a to modernize combat and sensor systems on
2013 accident. Shishumar Class submarines.

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