Ahead of the commissioning schedule of the first Scorpene-class submarine “Kalvari”, the Indian Navy on Thursday test fired an anti-ship missile successfully from the stealth submarine in the Arabian Sea.
“The missile successfully hit a surface target at extended ranges during the trial firing held this morning,” a Defence spokesperson said on Thursday.
Thursday’s missile launch is a significant milestone not only for the Kalvari, which is the first in a series of Scorpene class submarines being built in India, but also in enhancing the Indian Navy’s sub-surface warfare capability.
“All six Kalvari class submarines being built in India will be equipped with this anti-ship missile, which has a proven record in combat. These missiles will provide the submarines the ability to neutralise surface threats at extended ranges,” the spokesperson said.
The first of the Kalvari-class submarine is currently undergoing sea trials and likely to be commissioned into Navy by mid 2017.
Earlier on January 12 this year, the second of the Indian Navy’s Scorpene-class stealth submarine was launched at the Mazagon Dock Shipyard limited (MDl) here, a launch that paved the way for her sea trials. Christened as “Khanderi”, the second Scorpene-class submarine is expected to be delivered to the Indian Navy by the end of this year. Six Kalvari-class submarines are being built by the MDl in collaboration with Messrs DCNS of France. These submarines, post induction, would form the core of Navy’s conventional Submarine Arm.
The state-of-art features of the Scorpene-class submarines include superior stealth and the ability to launch a crippling attack on the enemy using precision guided weapons. The attack can be launched with torpedoes, as well as tube launched anti-ship missiles, whilst underwater or on surface. The Stealth features will give it invulnerability, unmatched by many submarines.
They are designed to operate in all theatres including the Tropics. All means and communications are provided to ensure interoperability with other components of a Naval Task Force.