The Indian Navy has taken delivery of INS Khanderi, the second Scorpene-class submarine, from Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL).
The delivery ceremony for the diesel-electric attack submarine took place in Mumbai on September 19, 2019.
Launched at the beginning of 2017, INS Khanderi be commissioned into the Indian Navy at the end of this month. It is the second of six boats being built by MDL in cooperation with French submarine designer Naval Group (former DCNS).
The first submarine from the batch, INS Kalvari , was commissioned in December 2017. The third Scorpene-class submarine, the future INS Karanj , is currently undergoing sea trials, according to the navy.
In addition, the fourth submarine, INS Vela , was launched in May this year and is currently preparing for sea trials. The remaining two newbuilds, the future INS Vagir and Vagsheer, are in various stages of outfitting, the navy informed.
Scorpene-class (also known as Kalvari-class) submarines are 67.5 meters long with a height of about 12.3 meters. They are fitted with 360 battery cells (each weighing 750 kg) powering the permanently magnetised propulsion motor.
Equipped with the submarine tactical integrated combat system (SUBTICS), sea skimming SM 39 Exocet missiles or the heavy weight wire guided Surface and underwater target (SUT) torpedoes, they can undertake multifarious tasks which include anti-surface as well as anti submarine warfare.
The first submarine Khanderi was commissioned into the Indian Navy in 1968 and decommissioned in 1989 after more than 20 years of service to the nation.