INS Karanj was delivered to Indian Navy as 3rd Kalvari-class sub

India’s leading shipbuilding company Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders (MDL) delivered the third Scorpene-class (called Kalvari-class in India) diesel-electric submarine named “INS Karanj” to the Indian Navy on 31st January.

INS Karanj was launched in January 2018; MDL achieved to deliver the submarine for the Indian Navy in three years.

INS Karanj is India’s third of the six Kalvari-class submarines with superior stealth and combat capabilities. The diesel-electric attack submarine has been built under MDL’s Project-75 in collaboration with the French giant company Naval Group.

The first Kalvari-class submarine INS Kalvari was launched in October 2015 and commissioned in December 2017, five years behind schedule. The second, INS Khanderi, was launched in January 2017 for sea trials and commissioned in September 2019.

INS Vela was launched in May 2019 and is undergoing sea trials. INS Vagir was launched in November 2020 and is also undergoing sea trials. The sixth submarine INS Vagsheer is at the stage of outfitting.

Kalvari-class submarine:

The Kalvari-class is a diesel-electric attack submarine class based on the Scorpène-class submarine being built for the Indian Navy. The class and submarines take their names from the first submarines inducted into the Indian Navy. The subs are designed by French naval defense and energy company DCNS and manufactured by Mazagon Dock Limited in Mumbai.

The Kalvari class is capable of offensive operations across the entire spectrum of naval warfare, including anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine laying, and area surveillance. It has a length of 67.5 m (221 ft), a height of 12.3 m (40 ft), an overall beam of 6.2 m (20 ft), and a draught of 5.8 m (19 ft). It can reach a top speed of 20 kts (37 km/h) when submerged and a maximum speed of 11 kts (20 km/h) when surfaced. The submarine has a range of 6,500 nmi (12,000 km) at 8 kn (15 km/h) when surfaced.

Each ship is powered by four MTU 12V 396 SE84 diesel engines, has 360 battery cells (750 kg each), for power, and has a silent Permanently Magnetised Propulsion Motor. The hull, fin, and hydroplanes are designed for minimum underwater resistance, and all equipment inside the pressure hull is mounted on shock-absorbing cradles for enhanced stealth.

Special steel was used in its construction, which has high tensile strength, capable of withstanding high yield stress and hydro-static force. Each submarine has 60 km of cabling and 11 km of piping. The class displaces 1,615 t (1,780 short tons) when surfaced and 1,775 t (1,957 short tons) when submerged.

This class is equipped with six 533-mm torpedo tubes for a combination of 18 heavyweight wire-guided German-made Surface and Underwater Target (SUT) torpedoes and SM39 Exocet anti-ship missiles or 30 mines in place of both. The class is also fitted with mobile C303/S anti-torpedo decoys for self-defense. The weapon systems and sensors are integrated with Submarine Tactical Integrated Combat System (SUBTICS). It has a sonar system capable of Low-Frequency Analysis and Ranging (LOFAR), enabling long-range detection and classification. Each submarine has a complement of 8 officers and 35 sailors.