In news–INS Vagsheer, the sixth submarine of the P75 project of the Indian Navy was launched at Mazgaon Dock Ltd recently.
About INS Vagsheer-
- It is the last of the Scorpene class submarines made under the P75 project and can join the Navy fleet within 12-18 months after sea trials.
- Vagsheer is named after the sand fish, a deep sea predator of the Indian Ocean.
- The first submarine Vagsheer, from Russia, was commissioned into the Indian Navy on December 26, 1974, and was decommissioned on April 30, 1997.
- The new Vagsheer will be officially named at the time of its commissioning.
- Now the submarines are being manufactured at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) in collaboration with Naval Group, France.
- Vagsheer can take up to eight officers and 35 men. It is 67.5 metres long and 12.3 metres high, and can reach top speed of 20 knots when submerged and a top speed of 11 knots when it surfaces.
- It has four MTU 12V 396 SE84 diesel engines, 360 battery cells for power, and a silent Permanently Magnetised Propulsion Motor.
- The hull, fin and hydroplanes are designed for minimum underwater resistance and all equipment inside the pressure hull is mounted on shock-absorbing cradles for enhanced stealth.
- It is a diesel attack submarine, designed to perform sea denial as well as access denial warfare against the adversary.
- It is enabled with a C303 anti-torpedo countermeasure system. It can carry up to 18 torpedoes or Exocet anti-ship missiles, or 30 mines in place of torpedoes.
- Its superior stealth features include advanced acoustic absorption techniques, low radiated noise levels, hydro-dynamically optimised shape, and it has the ability to launch a crippling attack using precision guided weapons, underwater or on surface.
- Scorpene submarines can undertake various types of missions such as anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine laying, area surveillance etc.
P75 project-
- Project-75, plan approved in 1999 envisages indigenous construction of six modern conventional submarines (including associated shore support, Engineering Support Package, training and spares package) with contemporary equipment, weapons & sensors including Fuel-Cell based AIP (Air Independent Propulsion Plant), advanced torpedoes, modern missiles and state of the art countermeasure systems.
- Under this project, the Indian Navy intends to acquire six conventional, diesel-electric attack submarines, which will also feature advanced capabilities – including air-independent propulsion (AIP), ISR, special operations forces (SOF), anti-ship warfare (AShW), anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASuW), land-attack capabilities and other features.
- The contract for six submarines under P75 was given to Mazgaon dock on October 6, 2005 and delivery was to start from 2012, but the project has faced delays.
- The first of the Project – 75 submarines was commissioned into the Navy in December 2017.
- Under P75, INS Kalvari, INS Khanderi, INS Karanj and INS Vela have been commissioned.
- Sea trials are on for Vagir.
- Vagsheer is the sixth; its production was delayed due to the pandemic.
Further reading: https://journalsofindia.com/project-75/
