Name Kalvari class Operators Indian Navy Building 4 | Builders Mazagon Dock Limited In commission March 2017 | |
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Succeeded by Project 75I-class submarine | ||
The Kalvari class is a class of submarines based on the Scorpène-class submarine being built for the Indian Navy. It is a class of diesel-electric attack submarine which is designed by French naval defence and energy company DCNS and being manufactured by Mazagon Dock Limited in Mumbai.
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Project history
In 2005, India chose the Scorpène design; purchasing six submarines for US$3 billion ($500 million per boat) under Project 75 (P75). The project was necessitated by the dwindling number of submarines in the Indian Navy. Indian Navy needed replacement for the older Sindhughosh (Kilo) and Shishumar (U209) class of submarines. The Scorpène design won the deal, defeating the rival U214 because of the capability to fire Exocet anti-ship missiles and an agreement on the air-independent propulsion (AIP). The submarines are to be manufactured under a technology transfer agreement by the state-owned Mazagon Docks in Mumbai. India plans to incorporate the DRDO-developed air independent propulsion (AIP) system onto the last two submarines being built and also to equip the P75I submarines, of which the DCNS is participating in the tender process.
Construction of the first submarine started on 23 May 2009. The project is running four years behind schedule. Once the new government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over, the project was reviewed and necessary action was taken to make up for the delay.
It was reported in November 2014, that the DRDO-developed AIP system for the last two Scorpène submarines for the Indian Navy has been developed and is ready for testing in February 2015. The government was finalizing an order for additional three more Kalvari class submarines but in September 2016, the NDA government decided not to buy them.
The first Scorpène submarine, INS Kalvari (named after a deep sea tiger shark), was undocked from the pontoon on 6 April 2015 and launched on 28 October 2015. It completed the Basin trials and Harbor acceptance trials in April 2016 and commenced sea trials on 1 May 2016.
The Indian Navy's USD300 million purchase of 98 torpedoes from WASS (a Finmeccanica/Leonardo company) remains suspended, as it is linked to the ongoing investigation into the EUR750 million (USD861 million) import of 12 AW101 helicopters from AgustaWestland (a Finmeccanica company facing corruption charges). The Defense minister Manohar Parikkar under the new NDA government, said that the torpedoes for the submarine will be procured from other companies. The submarine will able to be armed with MBDA's tube-launched Exocet SM-39 anti-ship missiles. The SeaHake torpedoes from Germany's Atlas Elektronik and France's F21 torpedoes may be considered. Indigenous torpedos are under development by the DRDO and await testing. DRDO is given the go ahead to make indigenous torpedoes for both Scorpene class and Kilo class of submarines.
On 2 March 2017, INS Kalvari test fired a Exocet SM39 Block 2 anti-ship missile in the Arabian Sea.
Ships of the class
The hull fabrication of all six submarines is now complete. The first Scorpène submarine was delivered in September 2016, delivery of successive boats have been compressed to nine months and the project is expected to be completed by 2020.