NEW DELHI: The Indian Navy on Tuesday received the fifth scorpene-class submarine Vagir ahead of its planned commissioning next month. The submarine, built under Project 75, will boost the Indian Navy’s combat capability at a time when China has been increasing its presence in the Indian Ocean region.
Here’s all you need to know …
* Launched in November 2020, the submarine commenced her sea trials from February 2022 and completed all the tests including the weapons and sensor trials in the shortest possible period compared with the earlier submarines.
* It will be commissioned into the Indian Navy soon as ‘INS Vagir’, a fully combat-worthy submarine that is capable of operation in all modes and regimes of deployment.

* ‘Vagir’ is built to undertake multifarious missions like anti-surface, anti-submarine, intelligence gathering, mine-laying, area surveillance, operate in multiple theatres of operation, showcasing interoperability with other components of the Naval Task Force.
* Project-75 includes the indigenous construction of six submarines of Scorpene design. The submarines are being constructed at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) in Mumbai in collaboration with the Naval Group of France.
* Earlier, the Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) had delivered the submarines ‘Kalvari’, ‘Khanderi’, ‘Karanj’, ‘Vela’.
* The Scorpene submarines encompass superior stealth features like advanced acoustic absorption techniques, low radiated noise levels, hydro-dynamically optimised shape, etc, and the ability to launch a crippling attack on the enemy using precision guided weapons.
* India has been focusing on shoring up its maritime capability with a focus on the Indian Ocean in the backdrop of concerns over China’s growing forays into the region, considered the backyard of the Indian Navy.
* Navy Spokesperson Commander Vivek Madhwal said the construction of these submarines in an Indian yard is another step towards ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.
* In a related development, ‘Arnala’, the first of anti-submarine warfare corvette being built by the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers for the Indian Navy, was launched on Tuesday in Chennai.
* On the launch of ‘Arnala’, the Navy said the name has been chosen to signify the strategic maritime importance accorded to the island of Arnala (located about 13 km north of Vasai, Maharashtra) by the great Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
(With inputs from agencies)