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Kalvari boost to India's naval prowess

First of six Scorpene-class submarines handed over to Navy

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INS Kalvari during sea trials
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In a boost to India's maritime firepower, Kalvari, the first of the six Scorpene-class submarines, was on Thursday handed over to the Indian Navy by shipbuilder Mazgaon Dock limited, paving way for its commissioning soon.

The INS Kalvari was delivered 12 years after the contract for construction and transfer of technology for six Scorpene submarines was signed with a French firm as collaborator in October 2005.

Upgrading its submarine operations and naval fleet has been top priority for the Indian Navy in wake of the increased presence of Chinese vessels in the Indian Ocean Region.

Indian Navy's satellites, Maritime surveillance aircraft and ships have been keeping an eye on around 12 Chinese naval units operating in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

Kalvari is named after the dreaded Tiger Shark, a deadly deep sea predator of the Indian Ocean. The first Kalvari, which was also the first Indian submarine and commissioned into Indian Navy in 1967, was decommissioned in May 1996. The submarine can be part of anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine-laying and area surveillance.

"The state-of-the-art technology utilised in the Scorpene has ensured superior stealth features such as advanced acoustic silencing techniques, low radiated noise levels, hydro-dynamically optimised shape and the ability to launch a crippling attack on the enemy using precision guided weapons," the MDL said in a statement.

The second of the Scorpenes under construction at MDL, Khanderi, was launched in January 2017, and is currently undergoing rigorous sea trials. The third, Karanj, is being readied for launch later this year.

The project is running behind schedule and will still take another five to six years. All the Scorpene submarines were supposed to be ready for use by this year. The Navy currently has 13 submarines, most of which need to be replaced soon.

Kalvari features

Rs 23,000 core – Cost of six diesel electric scorpenes

Equipped with Weapons Launching Tubes (WLT)

Weapons on board can be easily reloaded at sea.

Weapons, sensors managed by high technology Combat Management System

Designed to operate in all theatres including the tropics

Can launch attacks with torpedoes, as well as tube launched anti-ship missiles

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