Second Scorpene class submarine to be launched on January 12

Mumbai, Jan 9 (IANS) The second of the Scorpene class submarines, INS Khanderi, will be launched here on January 12, officials said on Monday.

The state-of-art features of the Scorpene 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 an invulnerability unmatched by many submarines, officials said.

The Scorpene submarine is designed to operate in all theatres including the tropics.

All means and communications are provided to ensure inter-operability with other components of a Naval Task Force.

It can undertake multifarious types of missions, including anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine laying and area surveillance, which are typically undertaken by any modern submarine.

Built according to the principle of Modular Construction at the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd, the construction of the submarine involves dividing it into a number of sections and outfitting them concurrently, said officials.

The equipment is mounted in a special manner and then embarked into the sections.

"The complexity of the task increases exponentially as it involves laying kilometres of cabling and piping in extremely congested compartments. Further, the stringent tolerances of the Scorpene required to be maintained were indeed a challenge, but were successfully achieved by MDL with traditional skill, determination and tenacity," an official said.

All equipment has been installed in the submarine with 95 per cent cabling and piping also being completed.

Pressure testing, setting-to-work and commissioning of various systems of the submarine is presently in progress and would continue after the launching of the submarine.

"All-important safety milestone of vacuum testing was completed in the first attempt itself, and within a single day on January 5 this year. This matched the record of Kalvari, the first Scorpene class submarine, which also completed the Vacuum Test in one shot, a feat unmatched in the annals of submarine construction," an official said.

From its launch to December 2017, the submarine will undergo rigorous trials and tests both in harbour and at sea, on surface and under water.

"These trials are designed to test each system to its fullest capacity. Thereafter she would be commissioned into the Indian Navy as INS Khanderi. This would be preceded by the commissioning of Kalvari later this year. The other four submarines will follow in the wake of Khanderi at intervals of nine months," the official said.

The boat is named after the first Khanderi, a diesel-electric submarine which was commissioned into the Indian Navy in 1968, and decommissioned in 1989.

In 2005, India purchased six Scorpene submarines for $3 billion.

These submarines are being manufactured under a technology transfer agreement by the state-owned Mazagon Docks in Mumbai in collaboration with French group DCNS.

The submarines were initially to be delivered between 2012 and 2016, however the project is running almost four years behind schedule and the first of the six Scorpene submarines, INS Kalvari, is currently undergoing sea trials.