The second Kalvari Class submarine of the Indian Navy will be launched on January 12, officials have said.

Minister of State for Defence Dr Subhash Bhamre will preside over the function, at Mazgaon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), to flag off the vessel Khanderi.

The ceremony will kickstart a series of events, which will lead to the separation of the submarine from the pontoon on which it is being assembled and its final setting afloat.

Admiral Sunil Lanba, chief of naval staff, will also be present.

“India is among the few countries in the world which produce conventional submarines,” said Commander Rahul Sinha, defence spokesperson. “Six submarines are being built at MDL in collaboration with DCNS, the naval defence and energy company of France, as part of project 75 of the Indian navy. The first submarine of the Kalvari class is completing its sea trials and will be commissioned shortly in the Indian Navy,” he said.

Kalvari submarines are based on Scorpene vessels — a class of diesel-electric attack submarines designed by DCNS and manufactured by MDL.

The ongoing project includes transfer of technology and is said to be one of the largest such projects globally.

The state-of-the-art features of the Scorpene 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 the tube-launched anti-ship missiles, whilst underwater or on surface.

All equipment has been installed in the Khanderi, with 95 percent cabling and piping also completed.

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

Khanderi is named after the island fort of the Maratha forces that played a vital role in their supremacy at sea in the 17th century.

Between now and December 2017, Khanderi will undergo rigorous trials and tests, both in harbour and at sea, both on surface and while dived.

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.

Four other submarines will follow in the wake of Khanderi, at intervals of nine months. In recent years, the MDL has seen large investment in modernisation and enhancement of infrastructure — the 3,300 square m etrecradle assembly shop, composite naval submarine crew training facility, a 2,000 tonne hydraulic press and a 100 bar high pressure test facility and the new Kanhoji Angre Wet Basin to enable additional berthing for three vessels. The module shop, with a retractable roof and the towering 300-tonne Goliath crane overhead, has enabled the assembly of warship mega blocks in a sheltered area rather than in the scorching sun.

Most importantly, the new submarine assembly shop, a sprawling 10,000 square metre facility is expected to enable MDL to undertake concurrent construction of two submarine production lines, adding up to 12 submarines under various stages of construction at any given point of time.

source: GULF NEWS