Navy gets INS Kalvari: 10 reasons why the submarine is a game changer

MUMBAI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday commissioned Scorpene-class submarine INS Kalvari into the Indian Navy. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba, and top defence officials were also in attendance at the commissioning ceremony.

Congratulating Navy, PM Modi said Kalvari is an excellent example of 'Make in India' and will boost the Navy's might. Kalvari is named after the dreaded tiger shark, a deadly deep sea predator of the Indian Ocean.

Hon'ble Prime Minister @narendramodi addressing the gathering on Commissioning of INS Kalvari @DefenceMinIndia @nsitharaman pic.twitter.com/pPrz7aC5OG — SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) December 14, 2017

The submarines, designed by French naval defence and energy company DCNS, are being built by Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) in Mumbai as part of Project-75 of the Indian Navy.

Here are 10 reasons why the submarine will be game changer:

1. INS Kalvari is the first submarine of Indian Navy to be equipped with Air Independent Propulsion (currently supplied by DCNS). The most important part is that for the last two submarines of this category, AIP will be developed indigenously by DRDO. This will be a boost for Make in India. An AIP is a system in which you don’t need atmospheric oxygen to run its propulsion system. This means the submarine can remain underwater for more time and can remain undetected.

2. It is an attack submarine which can carry 18 heavyweight torpedoes. DRDO is developing a specialised torpedo for this called Varunastra. It will be a 1500kg, 8-meter-long guided torpedo having a range of 40 kms and with an ability to destroy even aircraft carriers with its 250 kg warhead. It can even be locked on to the acoustics generated by the components of any ship.

3. It can also carry 18 Exocet Anti-Ship Missile which can destroy any enemy ship within a range of 180 KM which effectively means it can destroy any enemy ship without coming in its detection range. Exocet is a state of the art anti-ship missile made by French company MBDA. It is a missile which when launched, goes in a sea skimming way to attack its target and hence remains totally undetected till its final target. With a small change, it can also be used to attack on the land-based targets. 

4. Even nuclear power submarines generate some noise because they need to constantly pump coolant in their reactor and thus generate some kind of noise. But the upside in INS Kalvari is that its Air Independent propulsion can keep the submarine silent for over 21 days at a stretch.

A big day for us as we get first of our #Project75 submarines Kalvari. To be commissioned by Hon'ble Prime Minister @narendramodi in a few hours. Tune in to @DDNewsLive from 0830 AM onwards @nsitharaman @DefenceMinIndia @SpokespersonMoD @makeinindia @Cmdmdl pic.twitter.com/FVRIYkB3tC — SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) December 14, 2017

5. INS Kalvari is one of the six submarines built under this program. Two of the rest five are also under manufacturing and are expected to commission in next 1-2 years. These are INS Khanderi and INS Karanj. INS Karanj is the name of the submarine which remained underwater for 18 days to track the famous Paki Submarine PNS Ghazi in 1971 war and played an important role in sinking of the same.

6. The submarine has a range of over 12000 kms when surfaced and over 1000Km when totally submerged. Which means it can play a vital role in the entire South East Asia.

08 Dec 1967....The then Kalvari was commissioned in Riga (in erstwhile USSR) to...... 14 Dec 17 when Kalvari is reborn pic.twitter.com/0sUda91UgG — SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) December 14, 2017

7. INS Kalvari is one of the fastest submarine available in the region with a speed of over 37 Km per hour in totally submerged position.

8. The submarine can go up to a depth of 350 meters which keeps it undetected from most of the commonly available submarine detection systems.

9. The submarine is designed with a special steel alloy which not only reduces its weight but also enhances its load and stress bearing capabilities. The structure is made with two layers of steel making it absolute safe from enemy attacks.

10. Some of the systems like Sonar and internal communication system were also developed by DRDO. Which means we can say that this submarine is not totally French built but a first step towards indigenisation of Indian defence equipment.