India’s second Scorpene-class submarine INS Khanderi to be commissioned in Mumbai today

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Indian Navy is set to achieve three major milestones today. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will commission the indigenously built Kalvari class diesel-electric submarine INS Khanderi possessing superior stealth and other major combat capabilities in Mumbai.

Fully automated submarine INS Khanderi is built at state-run Mazgaon Dock Limited and underwent rigorous sea trials for over two and a half years. Khanderi is inspired by the fish name Kanneri found in the Arabian sea, which is very well known for hunting while swimming close to the bottom of the ocean, using barbells to find their prey and use their long serrated saw to kill the prey.

Key features of the submarine include a state-of-the-art stealth technology which reduces its noise under the sea. Another crucial feature of the new submarine is that unlike the previous requirement of 60 crew, its maximum requirement is 36 crew. It saves oxygen availability and increases its capacity to stay underwater for long periods. Mazagon Dock has built the submarine under a transfer of technology agreement with the Naval Group of France. According to Navy, delivering submarines adds much more punch than any other platform to the Indian Navy as it is a very potent weapon and makes a huge difference in the geo-strategic balance.

Defence Minister will also commission, INS Nilgiri today, the first ship of the P-17A frigates. With the commissioning of ‘Khanderi’ and launch of ‘Nilgiri’, the combat potential of Navy will go up many folds. On the occasion, Defence Minister will also inaugurate the Indian Navy’s biggest aircraft carrier drydock. The aircraft carrier drydock, housed within the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai, is capable of docking India’s largest ship INS Vikramaditya and has the ability to maintain ships for decades to come.

India already had three British era dry docks but they don’t have the capacity to accommodate aircraft carrier ships like INS Vikramaditya. With its induction, a new dry dock with the enhanced capacity was required. The new modern dry-dock with high automation, and can be dewatered in less than three hours and filled back within just one and a half hour.

Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar, the vice chief of the Navy, said these developments are in line with our Prime Minister’s vision of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region).