UPSC Articles
Scorpene class submarine INS Vela
Part of: Prelims and GS-III – Defence and security
Context The fourth Scorpene class conventional submarine, INS Vela , was commissioned into the Navy
Key takeaways
- With this, the Navy currently has 16 conventional and one nuclear submarines in service.
- Vela is named after a type of Indian fish belonging to the stingray family.
Navy’s Project-75
- Six Scorpene submarines are being built under Project-75 by India under technology transfer from France under a $3.75-bn deal.
- The first submarine INS Kalvari was commissioned in December 2017.
- Second submarine INS Khanderi in September 2019.
- Third one INS Karanj in March 2021.
- The fifth submarine, Vagir , was launched in November 2020.
- Sixth one Vagsheer is in the advanced stage of outfitting.
India’s further plans
- India plans to install Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) modules on all Scorpene submarines from 2023 to enhance their endurance.
- After the Project P-75I, the Navy intends to design and build conventional submarines indigenously.
