Mumbai: The Indian Navy on Wednesday commissioned its third Scorpene-class submarine—the INS Karanj—in Mumbai. The ceremony took place at Naval Dockyard, Mumbai, in the presence of Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh and Admiral (Retired) VS Shekhawat.
A Scorpene submarine is a class of diesel-electric attack submarines designed by France’s Naval Group and is being manufactured by Mazagon Dock Ltd (MDL) in Mumbai.
The Navy has inducted two submarines of the same class—the INS Kalvari and INS Khanderi—from MDL where the INS Karanj was also built.
Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh said that Indian Navy has been a strong proponent of indigenization and self-reliance in defence over past seven decades.
“At present, out of 42 ships and submarines are on order, and 40 are being constructed in Indian shipyards,” he said.
“The impetus to atma nirbharta or indigenization is a fundamental tenet of Indian Navy’s growth story and future trajectory,” he added.
Karanj is seen as a small submarine with a length of 60 metres. It sailed for over 100 days as part of trials before being commissioned.
INS Karanj has the best sonar and does not make noise at all which makes it the best in the world, an officer said.
The submarine is completely made in India. Unlike other submarines which were made under the supervision of France, INS Karanj has been constructed completely under the supervision of MDL (Mazgaon Dock Limited), Naval Engineers.
Therefore, the commissioning of INS Karanj is a major milestone towards developing indigenous submarine building capability.
Six Scorpene-class submarines are being built in India by the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) Mumbai, under collaboration with M/s Naval Group, France.
INS Karanj is smaller than a nuclear submarine. This makes it the deadliest and the quickest submarine till date. The smaller size makes the submarine manoeuvre easily in difficult locations and reach nearest to the enemy’s coast. It attacks the target accurately and gathers maximum intelligence.
It can go deep into the ocean for a much longer period and works best for the surface-to-surface attack, accurate missile and torpedo attack. At any point of time, the submarine can carry 18 torpedos.
The motto of the submarine is ‘Nitya Nirghosh and Nirbhik’, which means ‘stealthy and fearless always’.