Why is it in news?

The Navy’s third state-of-the-art Scorpene class submarine, INS Karanj was recently launched.

Details

• The new submarine is named after the earlier Kalvari class INS Karanj, which was decommissioned in 2003.
• Six Scorpene class submarines are being built under Project 75 by the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDSL), Mumbai, under a $3.75 billion technology transfer signed in October 2005 with the Naval Group of France. However, the programme has been delayed by four years due to construction delays.
• The Scorpene class is the Navy’s first modern conventional submarine series in almost two decades, since INS Sindhushastra was procured from Russia in July 2000
• INS Kalavari and INS Khanderiwere the previous two submarines launched under the Scorpene class of submarines.
• INS Kalvari, the first to be launched, was commissioned in December 2017 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. INS Khanderi, which was launched in January 2017, is currently undergoing deep dive trails and is expected to be commissioned later this year.
• It will be manned by a team of eight officers and 35 sailors, carries sea-skimming SM39 Exocet missiles and the heavyweight wire-guided Surface and Underwater Target (SUT) torpedoes. For self-defence, it has mobile anti-torpedo decoys.

What are Scorpene class submarines?

Scorpene is a conventional diesel-electric powered submarine weighing 1,500 tonnes and can go up to depths of 300m. It is built by DCNS of France.

It features diesel propulsion and additional air-independent propulsion (AIP).

Apart from India; Chile, Malaysia and Brazil build, own and operate these submarines.

Source

The Hindu