India’s first Scorpene-class submarine INS Kalvari entering service

The Indian Navy is set to commission its first Scorpene-class submarine INS Kalvari in a ceremony in Mumbai on December 14.

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi will have the honor of officially inducting the submarine into service in a ceremony attended by state and navy leaders.

INS Kalvari was built by Indian shipbuilder Mazagon Dockyards Limited who delivered the diesel-electric submarine to the Indian Navy in September 2017.

The submarine is India’s first new-build conventional submarine in 20 years and is the first in a fleet of six Kalvari-class submarines.

Designed by French company Naval Group, the submarines are built in India under a transfer of technology agreement.

Kalvari has an overall length of 67.5 meters and a height of about 12.3 meters. Her 360 battery cells (each weighing 750 kg) power the permanently magnetised propulsion motor.

The boat is equipped with the Submarine Tactical Integrated Combat System (SUBTICS), sea skimming SM 39 Exocet missiles (Flying Fish in French) or the heavy weight wire guided Surface and Underwater Target (SUT) torpedoes. Kalvari is also fitted with mobile C303/S anti-torpedo decoys.

INS Kalvari was initially set to be commissioned into the Indian Navy in 2016 but delays in sea trials postponed the boat’s entry into service.

The second Kalvari-class submarine, INS Khanderi, was launched on January 12 this year and stated trials five months later.