2nd Scorpene-class submarine 'Khanderi' to be commissioned on Saturday

India's second Scorpene-class submarine INS Khanderi is scheduled to be commissioned into service by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Mumbai on September 28 (Saturday). Besides this, he will launch, INS Nilgiri, the first ship of the P-17A frigates and inaugurates an aircraft carrier drydock on the same day.

New Delhi: India's second Scorpene-class submarine INS Khanderi, possessing superior stealth and other major combat capabilities, is slated to be commissioned into service by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Mumbai on Saturday, officials said.

Also, INS Nilgiri, the first ship of the P-17A frigates, will be launched and an aircraft carrier drydock will be inaugurated on Saturday.

With the commissioning of 'Khanderi' and launch of 'Nilgiri', the combat potential of Navy will "go up much fold", Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar, the vice chief of the Navy, had earlier said.

The aircraft carrier drydock, housed within the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai, is capable of docking India's largest ship INS Vikramaditya and has the ability to maintain ships for decades to come, Kumar said.

"The three events lined up for September 28 are in line with our prime minister's vision of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region)," he said.

INS Khanderi, the second Scorpene-class submarine that can attack with torpedoes as well as tube-launched anti-ship missiles whilst underwater or on the surface, was launched at the Mazgaon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) in Mumbai on January 2017.

The first Scorpene-class submarine INS Kalvari was commissioned into the Navy by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 2017. On the occasion, Modi had said Kalvari was an excellent example of 'Make in India' and will boost the Navy's might.

"After commissioning of Khanderi and launch of Nilgiri by the defence minister's wife and the inauguration of the drydock, the minister has plans for spending a day at sea with the navy onboard INS Vikramaditya.

"That will be on September 28 evening and forenoon of September 29. He will witness all naval actions including missile firing and various other exercises at sea before disembarking and returning to Delhi," the vice chief of Navy said.

Kumar further said that building any ship or submarine is a huge challenge and the complexity of the platform means a number of micro, small and medium enterprises and other companies are involved in ensuring successful completion of its construction.

A contract with French company Naval Group (earlier called DCNS) was signed in 2005 for the supply of six submarines. In January 2017, Khanderi, the second Scorpene-class submarine was launched into the waters.

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

According to senior Navy officials, the cost of the Scorpene project now stands at around Rs 25,000 crore, while the cost of the seven frigates under P-17A is over Rs 48,000 crore.

Asked about the issues faced by 'Khanderi', Kumar had said all those "have been resolved" and certain sea acceptance trials are going, and "we expect those to be completed before commissioning".

The state-of-the-art features of the Scorpene-class submarine include superior stealth and ability to launch a crippling attack on the enemy using the precision-guided weapon. The stealth features will give it an invulnerability, unmatched by many submarines.

The submarine is designed to operate in all theatres, including the tropics. All means of communications are provided to ensure interoperability with other components of a naval task force.

It can undertake multifarious missions typically undertaken by any modern submarine, that is anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine laying and area surveillance.

The remaining four submarines in the Scorpene-class are -- 'Karanj', 'Vela', 'Vagir' and 'Vagsheer'.