The Indian Navy has inducted into service the third Scorpene-class conventional diesel-electric submarine called INS Karanj on March 10, 2021.
Highlights
The watercraft called INS Karanj was commissioned by the former Navy Chief, Admiral V.S. Shekhawat. He was the Commanding Officer of previous version of the INS Karanj during 1971 India-Pakistan War.
Background
INS Karanj is the part of Six Scorpene submarines which are being built under Project-75. It was built by Mazagon Dock Limited which has also taken up the other projects. The submarine was built under technology transfer from the Naval Group of France for which a dollar 3.75 billion deal was signed in October 2005. But the project is delayed by four years because of delay in construction.
Project-75
Under the project-75, the first submarine of the class called INS Kalvari was commissioned in the month of December, 2017. The second submarine called INS Khanderi was commissioned in the month of September, 2019. The fourth submarine INS Vela was launched in May, 2019. In the month of November 2020, the fifth submarine called Vagir was commissioned.
Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) modules
The Indian Navy is also looking to install the Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) modules on all the submarines in order to enhance its endurance. However, the plan to install AIP plugs on the fifth & sixth submarines got failed because the indigenous module of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) got delayed.
INS Karanj
It is the third submarine of first batch of the six Kalvari-class submarines. This submarine is a diesel-electric attack submarine which is based on Scorpene class. It has been designed by the French naval defence and energy group and manufactured by Mazagon Dock Limited which is an Indian shipyard. This ship was launched in January 2018 and was delivered to Indian Navy in February 2021.