In what may be considered as a big boost for the Indian maritime security, the Indian Navy recently launched its third Scorpene-class submarine, ‘INS Karanj’.
In the presence of Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba, the Navy launched the diesel-electric attack submarine at Mazagon Dock in Mumbai on January 31. The state-owned Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) said in a statement that the submarine could launch a crippling attack using torpedoes, anti-ship missiles and precision guided weapons. The MDL also said that INS Karanj, built in collaboration with French firm Naval Group, would undergo year-long tests.

INS Karanj

In 2005, India had decided to build six such Scorpene-class submarines, worth USD 3.5 billion, jointly with France. Later, the two countries signed construction and transfer-of-technology deal for the six vessels. The first one, INS Kalvari, was launched in 2015 and commissioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 14, 2017. INS Khandari, the second Scorpene-class submarine that was launched in January 2017, is all set to complete sea trials. And now, India has launched the third one. The MDL further said that the remaining three submarines were under construction and there would be a nine-month gap between their launch.
Right now, the Indian Navy has 15 commissioned submarines. Among them, 13 are diesel-electric attack submarines and two nuclear attack submarines. As far as countries bordering by the Indian Ocean are concerned, India has the maximum number of submarines. However, the South Asian country needs more such vessels in order to counter China’s growing influence in the region. That’s why India signed the deal with France 13 years ago.

Indian Ocean

It is to be noted that the Scorpene deal came against the background of the controversies over the leak of the detailed plans for the stealth submarines of the Indian Navy. In 2016, The Australian daily revealed that it had got the access of the 22,400-page document, covering the entire secret combat capability of the six Scorpene-class submarines designed for the Indian Navy. However, the Navy rubbished the claim that the submarine would remain effective as long as it would be secretive. A senior Navy officer said that the six submarines would boost the naval forces’ combat abilities, irrespective of the controversy.
The Scorpene-class submarines – which have superior stealth features, such as advanced acoustic silencing techniques, low radiated noise levels and a hydro-dynamically optimised shape – can undertake various missions, like anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine-laying and area surveillance.
Indeed, the Scorpene submarines are a huge boost to the Navy’s combat system especially at a time when the naval forces are facing challenges of an aging submarine fleet and a strong Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das